Memories Lost
by Aeyra
Summary: It all began when Ruby and Sapphire were heading to a festival in Lilycove where a disastrous storm caused Ruby to lose his memory. No one could have ever predicted the arrival of the cunning villain whose only goal is to take over the world- and he needs Ruby to succeed in his plans. Can the Dex Holders save the world and Ruby? COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

***Author's Note: This is my first Poke fanfic, and I'm very excited. :3 I've got ten chapters written, just because I like to have a bit of.. cushion just in case. (the chapters appear to like catching up _really_ fast when you're not paying attention) It's got FranticShipping (Win!), and will probably have SpecialShipping(:3), ChosenShipping(for OldRivalShippers, this isn't a big part of the story at all, and it's most likely only going to be hinted at), and whatever I feel like adding. :P Please read and review! :D***

Chapter 1

"It's sure getting stormy, dontcha think, Ruby?" commented Sapphire, eyeing the black clouds with scrutiny. "Do ya think we'll be able to get to shore on time?"

The crimson-eyed boy put on his glasses, scanning the horizon for traces of land. He and Sapphire had been travelling across the ocean for a few days, trying to reach Lilycove City, where a commemorative contest and Pokemon tournament would take place to celebrate the fifth year anniversary of Hoenn's near-death escape from destruction. "It looks pretty bad to me. But we'll be safe on Walo, right?"

The Wailord made a snort of approval and the vibrations made Ruby stumble a little bit before he caught his balance.

"It makes me think of this huge storm in the forest when I was eight. A whole buncha trees were knocked down and all the Pokemon fled for a coupla' days. It's gonna be bad." Sapphire watched the quickly approaching storm clouds with unease, smelling the scent of rain on the increasingly strong wind. There was a crackle of lightning that made her hair stand on end, and Ruby let out a little girly squeal.

"That was really loud! And that means the storm is huge!" he exclaimed, taking a Pokeball from his belt. "I don't want to get my new clothes drenched! They'll get wrinkles!"

"Ya could stand to stop worryin' 'bout yer clothes every once in a while! Someone would think ya were a girl!" teased Sapphire, rolling her eyes.

"Excuse me for caring! I spent absolute ages making these, just look at the skill! Not just anyone can hand-embroider like I can! And you should care too! I made those for you, and I don't want to see my workmanship ruined by rain!"

"Unlike ya, I don't care 'bout whateva Mother Nature has ta' throw at me!" Sapphire stood up proudly, beating her fist against her chest twice. "A little rain ain't gonna worry me!"

"Popo, get ready to use Sunny Day!" The small gray Pokemon burst out of its Pokeball, nodding its head at Ruby's command. "Make sure Sapphire's covered too. Maybe the wild girl doesn't care about the clothes I made for her but I sure do!"

Sapphire sighed, trying to suppress a smile. Over the past five years, she and Ruby had grown extremely close, and almost nothing had changed. Their constant bickering and overwhelming differences still remained, and they were still trying to out-do each other with constant achievements in contests and battles. But no matter what, Ruby still took the time to make her a matching set of clothes every time he redesigned his own, a gesture that made her feel warm inside.

But of course, the stubborn boy still insisted he remembered absolutely nothing about Mirage Island, an irritation that was like a thorn in Sapphire's side. She was just about certain he remembered their confession- how amidst the raging thunder and torrential rain, her whispered words, his declaration, how he'd pushed her into the air car for the sole reason of protecting her. And he refused to admit it.

It worried her. After all, what did it mean if he was lying about such an important memory? Had his feelings changed? Was he not interested in her anymore? And if so, why? Had he gotten tired of her antics? Thought she was too troublesome? Too strange? The questions always plagued her with doubt and uncertainty.

After all, her own feelings remained unchanged. Correction, they'd only grown stronger. She'd gone from merely liking Ruby to loving him, all his strange quirks included. The way he could rant on and on about how beautiful his Pokemon were, the blaze of red-got fire in his eyes as he competed in a contest, the careful, elegant way he brushed a Pokemon's fur, and his soft smile, something so rare that Sapphire had only seen it a few times. A smile that reflected the kind, caring boy that hid behind an obnoxious, indifferent exterior, a smile that spoke of the real Ruby, a boy she was proud to know and love.

"Hm?" Sapphire felt a drop of water on her shoulder, and within seconds the one drop seemed to transform into buckets of ice cold water poured over her head, drenching her from head to toe.

"Popo, I told you to cover Sapphire too!" said Ruby, who was completely dry under the shining Castform, which quickly shone the rays of warmth and light onto her as well, protecting her from the rain. "There you go, wild girl. Would you rather this or Mother Nature? Because I personally feel it's much better to be under the warmth of Popo's beautiful sun that sitting out in that terrible, clothes ruining rain. And by the way, you'll have to let me iron out your outfit once we get to shore. It already looks horrendous."

As usual, his priority was her clothes, and not even a dime of his concern was really cast upon her. But Sapphire figured that was just his way of showing he cared; after all, Ruby wasn't really one to fuss over something that wasn't completely superficial.

Which was why she was surprised when he came over and wrapped his jacket around her shoulder, giving a satisfactory smile as he did so. "There. That way you won't catch cold. The rain looks like it could freeze someone to death."

"Thanks..." Sapphire felt a blush flood to her cheeks, and shook her head in an attempt to banish it, her hair covering her face as the caramel locks swished back and forth.

"Is something wrong?" asked Ruby, staring curiously into her azure-hued eyes, leaning in so that their faces were barely inches apart. "Is it not warm enough?"

"I- it's fine," she stuttered, backing away a few inches again, feeling the incriminating red spread even further. "I was just... drying my hair."

"Your hair! How could I have forgotten? After I spent all that time styling it so you would look your best at that tournament, it's been ruined! I need to fix it, now!" He dived into his bag for hairspray and a brush, taking out the two necessary tools for the crisis at hand. "Sit still."

"Sitting still," she muttered as she felt Ruby's hands carefully move across her head with the grace of a well-practiced expert, drawing each strand of hair into a perfect tight bunch within his fingers.

"Popo, can you help me dry her hair real quick? Otherwise, there's no way to style it!" The small Pokemon quickly obliged, filling the air with intense heat for a few seconds, instantly evaporating all the water from Sapphire's previously soaking wet hair.

"The waves are gettin' bigger," Sapphire observed, looking down towards the fuming sea, which was throwing the waves higher and higher across the Wailord's side. "I think they might reach us soon."

"Nonsense!" Ruby replied, brushing her hair with intense concentration. "Walo's huge, and you'd need a twenty-foot wave just to touch us! They won't get that big."

"What do you know about the sea?" challenged Sapphire, feeling queasy. She was a forest girl, and the ocean just wasn't her forte. At least in the woods you could hide from a storm. In the ocean you were trapped. "You've spent as much time on it as I have!"

"I have common sense," responded Ruby quickly, spraying her hair with flourishing motions that Sapphire was pretty sure were for dramatic effect, humming as he did so. "Hey look! Rocks!" he said excitedly, pointing a couple hundred feet in front of him. "We must be close to land now!"

A strong wind buffeted them, and Ruby groaned as Sapphire's hair was blown out of perfection. Mother Nature always seemed to want to destroy his hard work. Why else would it keep messing up Sapphire's hair?

"You can just stop tryin', Ruby," said Sapphire, though she could barely hear herself over the shrieking wind. It had suddenly gained immense strength and was roaring as loudly as the waves crashing across Walo's side, but was a high-pitched keening rather than a whiplash. "Do it once we get to a Pokemon Center or something!"

"What?" he yelled, struggling to hear her.

"The wind's too loud, I can't hear ya!" shouted Sapphire, gasping in terror as she watched a wave rise above them. Instinctively, she clutched Wailord's fin where all their stuff was strapped, preparing herself. "Ruby! Grab on!"

The boy turned around and watched the wall of water with a horrified fascination as it hit him. "Ruby!" exclaimed Sapphire, choking on the salt water that had worked its way into her throat, trying to keep the burn out of her eyes. With all the strength she could muster, she forced herself to open her eyes, discovering the worst. Ruby wasn't there.

"Ruby!" she shrieked hopelessly despite knowing that there was no way he could answer. She dug into his bag ferociously, thankful that he had decided to keep his Pokemon in it, pulling out Zuzu's Pokeball and releasing the Swampert. "Help me find Ruby! He fell in the ocean!" she begged, grabbing the Swampert's neck. "Walo! Just get to shore, okay? Get yourself to a safe place? She grabbed their supplies as Zuzu jumped off Walo, landing in the water with a loud splash as it started to search for its trainer.

In spite of her panic, Sapphire couldn't help but think a small apology for getting Ruby's spare set of clothes wet as Swampert submerged into the depths, making its way through the murky depths with stunning speed.

Sapphire struggled to keep her eyes open, ignoring the fiery scalding of salt, keeping her eyes open for Ruby. Be okay, be okay, she silently pleaded, clutching Zuzu's neck tightly.

A dozen or so yards away she saw him as his body hit one of the tall rocks he had seen earlier, sending him bouncing off like a rag doll, and there were no air bubbles coming from his air and nose signaling a struggle. She turned Zuzu in Ruby's immediate direction, grabbing the unconscious boy as Zuzu fought to get back to the surface, where the storm was beginning to die down.

She took a big breath as her head broke through the top of the water, fear blossoming like a flower in her heart as Ruby failed to do the same. His eyes were closed, and his chest wasn't moving up and down with regular breathing. He was completely, eerily still, and Sapphire was paralyzed with terror for a second before she regained her senses. She could only do one thing. She had saved a drowning Pokemon before and she could certainly save the boy she loved. There was no time to hesitate.

She placed her hands on his chest and clamped her mouth on his, performing CPR to the best of her ability as Zuzu swam as fast as he possibly could towards the beach, which was visible in the distance. She didn't think about it technically counted as a kiss, she only thought about how she had to keep on breathing air into him, keep trying to force the water out, keep breathing, keep pressing, breathe, press, breathe, press. Ya have to breathe, Ruby, ya have ta!

When she was about to think all hope was lost, she heard him cough beneath her, and she released him, allowing him to vomit out seawater, helping him by giving a few aiding presses to the chest to expel the remaining water. But he didn't wake up, his crimson eyes remained covered, and the only thing signaling life was the slight rise and fall of his chest and the weak pulse Sapphire could feel in his wrist. Popo floated above them, frantically shining warm light above them, making Sapphire aware of how cold she was.

As more of a gesture to her unconscious crush than anything else, she returned the nearly-dry jacket to him, carefully blanketing him with it as Popo made it really seem as if it were a hot sunny summer day instead of the remains of a terrifying, destructive storm.

His hat had fallen off, Sapphire noticed, and he looked like the small frail boy he had been five years ago at eleven, vulnerable. His scar where the Salamence had clawed him was still just as visible as it had been when he'd revealed it to her after pushing her into the air car, and the raven-black hair he so carefully concealed beneath his white hat was splayed out like an ink spill across the blue of Zuzu's back.

She hugged him and cried, feeling so relieved that he was breathing again and that they were about to reach shore, where she could take him to a hospital and make sure he got better quickly. The moment Zuzu reached the sand, no, even before that, Sapphire had already jumped off, charging through the water and sand with Ruby in her arms, who she could still lift despite being three inches than him. Zuzu trailed after her, nudging her and motioning for her to put Ruby on his back. She complied, running step for step with the Swampert, which was moving like lightning through the mud.

Ruby won't be happy that you got dirty, Zuzu... mused Sapphire even though her head was consumed with worry. He won't be happy with how wet and muddy I am either. He'll have a freak attack and rant about how much I've ruined his beautiful sowing for an hour. She envisioned him lively in his anger, waving the wrinkled, mud-stained outfit in front of her, veins popping in his forehead as his scarlet eyes burned hotter than fire.

So different from the Ruby that was laying immobile on Zuzu's back, who looked so weak and pale and helpless. The Ruby who was perfectly fine just a few minutes prior, who was fussing over her hair like a mother hen over its chicks, who was acting like he was king of the world as usual.

Sapphire and Zuzu burst through the Lilycove Hospital doors simultaneously, both breathing hard, but she still had more than enough breath to explain what happened. "We were just caught up in that storm right now, and he was knocked off Walo and he wasn't breathing but he is now but he's still unconscious-"

She didn't need to say anymore. The nurse at the desk immediately called for a stretcher to take Ruby to a hospital room, and Sapphire followed behind the doctors worriedly. Once in the room, they took his temperature and checked for other vital signs that could signal danger while Sapphire watched with agonizing fear. What if she hadn't saved Ruby soon enough? What if-?

"Your friend has a concussion, but other than that, he should be fine," reported the head doctor, running the stethoscope over Ruby's chest one more time. "All he needs is some rest."

Sapphire felt her eyes well up with tears. Ruby was all right. He was going to be all right. She thanked the doctor profusely and settled into the chair next to the hospital bed, Zuzu beside her. The exhaustion of the day finally caught up to her, and she quickly fell asleep.

***Please leave me a review! :D There is nothing better to brighten up someone's day. :3 I'll reply to all reviews in the next chapter, which'll be updated probably next week. Chapters will be uploaded on a 1-2 week basis, 1-week normally, 2-week if I need to do other stuff and am too busy to write. So... See you next week! ;D***


	2. Chapter 2

***I'm so sorry! I'm a day late... TT-TT I blame , which decided to _stop working last night_ (specifically, it wouldn't let me log in and post) and I sat at my computer until about 9 o'clock hitting the log-in button over and over until it worked. It didn't. But one day isn't too bad, right? So here is the second installment of 'Memories Lost', and I hope you all enjoy it! Thank you guys for all the reviews! ;D I hope you continue to do so! They seriously make my week! Replies at the end. :3***

Chapter 2

A beam of bright sunlight peeked through the window shades, settling on Sapphire's eyes, making her blink awake to soft murmuring and a sigh of relief, shuffling of feet, and the brush of someone's clothes across her arm. _Ruby?_she thought, shaking off the clutches of slumber, rubbing her eyes, expecting to see the black-haired boy perched above her, rose-red eyes teasing.

It wasn't Ruby who was making all the noise though- there was a man and a woman standing above Ruby's bed, and Sapphire quickly recognized them as Ruby's parents. His mom looked as if she had just flown into a panic and was recovering- which was most likely true- and Ruby's dad seemed as calm as usual, but his forehead was creased with slight worry. Ruby's mom was stroking Ruby's bare head, the soft feathery black ruffling under her gentle touch, carefully avoiding the patch of mauled skin that scarred his forehead.

Sapphire felt as if she were intruding on a family-only moment, and wondered whether to feign slumber or to get up and leave, but Norman looked over and caught sight of her open eyes.

His gaze was intense and unreadable, much like Ruby's could be, enigmatic and powerful, and she fumbled for something to say, anything. It felt like several minutes at least before she managed to pry her mouth open and get her tongue to put words to her thoughts, saying, "Is he okay?"

Norman nodded slowly, filling Sapphire with relief. Despite the fact the doctor had already comforted her about Ruby's condition, it hadn't prevented doubt and fear to eat away at her, especially seeing that Ruby looked almost exactly as he had then night before, albeit dryer and less pale.

"You saved him, right?" asked Ruby's mom, voice filled with gratitude. "I can't thank you enough."

"Thank Zuzu," said Sapphire modestly, smiling. She technically had saved Ruby's life- it gave a sense of pride and confidence. She was capable of protecting him, and had thrown herself into the raging currents to do it. She took out Zuzu's Pokeball and let the Swampert out, allowing it to plod over to its unconscious master, making happy noises as it celebrated its success. Ruby's mom patted its head, taking Pokeblock and feeding it to the hungry Pokemon.

"Thank you too, Zuzu."

"Did- did da doctor say when Ruby's gonna wake up?" asked Sapphire, taking note of how deeply asleep he still looked.

"He'll wake up when he does," said Norman, his eyes scouring the whole scene in front of him. "After all, he wasn't given sleep medication or anything. Once he wakes up, they'll examine his concussion and check how bad that could be. Unfortunately, he'll probably miss the contest. It's in a week, isn't it? A concussion would give him too much of a headache to concentrate properly."

"That's too bad..." said Sapphire, her voice trailing off as she remembered how hard Ruby had been preparing for that one day. He practiced all sorts of new appeals, each more stunning than the last, and even having a few battles with her to practice for the new battle portion of the contest that was going to be introduced. He'd be divested when he woke up.

But with Ruby's determination, even if he was locked in the hospital, he'd still manage to find a way out to sneak to the contest hall and participate, concussion or not. If he had a goal he wanted completed, he'd keep going at it until he won, and it was one of the traits about him that she loved best. Beside her, she saw Zuzu frown when Norman said Ruby would miss the contest. All of his Pokemon had been working as hard as they could as well, and it was obvious that Zuzu was disappointed.

If she had been the one to nearly drown, she would have been as heartbroken as she knew as Ruby would be. While he had been grooming his Pokemon and keeping them in tip-top condition(while murmuring "Beautiful!" every few minutes), she'd been having her Pokemon train outdoors in the forest, defeating all opponents in sight, and at the end of the day, they'd battle, usually ending in a tie. Ruby's strength never failed to surprise her even though he had stopped claiming an absolute loathing of battles, looking like he was enjoying himself instead. (until of course, Toro singed the edges of Nana's precious fur. Nothing could set off his anger time bomb quite do effectively.)

Such precious memories, the daily routine of the last month, all the time they'd spent together in the secret base, laughing, simply hanging out, and their ride on Walo, which had been fun and enjoyable until the weather had turned disastrous, memories that Sapphire hoped Ruby deemed important as well. After all, they belonged to them and them alone, those moments of silence, the all-out battles outside in the forest; the picnics while sitting the shade of trees and picking berries afterwards, all the planning that had gone into their routines.

She remembered getting a concussion or two back in her early forest days (or wild savage days as Ruby liked to call them, usually following up with a rant about poor hygiene and no fashion taste, and _that_was followed by a handful of mud), and remembered how much they stung, like a whole hive of Beedrill were digging their sharp drills into your mind, sparing no mercy. Of course, that was a concussion from falling over ten feet off a tree.

Perhaps Ruby hadn't hit the rock as hard as she thought he had. Maybe it was more of a gentle brush than the imagined crack that burst through her ears while she was watching (had that been thunder?), and that all of his effort would not be put to waste.

She'd heard him talk excitedly over and over again about how steep the competition was going to be, pointing out potential threats to his champion win like his master, Wallace, the famous contest master from Sinnoh, Fantina, and a few names she has never heard before. The Pokemon Tournament was also to be multi-regional in its participants, and she remembered the names that had stuck with her, champions and Gym Leaders, opponents that would take her utmost skill to beat, and maybe not even then. The Pallet Town Trio from Kanto, Red, the champion, Green, a gym leader, and Blue, while not as powerful, a formidable competitor and trickster. Yellow was to participate as well, and judging from the battle of the small blond girl that she'd watched four years ago at the Battle Frontier, her size was an inaccurate depiction of the prowess she possessed.

_Would it be fair,_ she wondered, _if I participated in da contests if Ruby is forced ta stay here?_

_"We'll have to do our best," he'd said, red eyes bright with unmatched determination. "We don't need a bet this time though, because I'm sure both of us will be the champions!"_

_"Confident, are ya'?" she'd challenged teasingly, poking him gently in the shoulder. "Betcha you'll lose out in the first round!" She chuckled, Ruby rolling his eyes as his Pokemon surrounded him._

_"With my Pokemon's beautiful charm and grace, they wouldn't even need an appeal to win? Isn't that right guys?" His Pokemon voiced their approval in a chorus of howls, mewls, gurgles, and sounds of happiness. "Nobody can beat my team's beauty!"_

_"Sissy boy," she muttered, smirking, enjoying the constant banter, the familiar insults that were exchanged each and every day. It was simply part of a daily routine. _

_"Barbarian," he shot back, sticking out his tongue, smiling._

That had been the day before they set off on Walo, three days before today. She'd looked forward to the festival and tournament with such anticipation, and now, her own happiness was unraveling before conclusions could even be drawn.

The room was completely silent, even Zuzu's chewing of his sour Pokeball in the background had stopped, and their breathing was to quiet to be audible. It made Sapphire feel as if she were locked in time, like everyone was a statue, unmoving and silent.

Then there was a cough, a boyish cough that could have only come from one person in the room. Sapphire's shining blue eyes lit up like lights at Christmas, watching Ruby transition into consciousness. A cough, a shiver, and blinking, where she'd caught a sliver of scarlet before it disappeared behind tightly shut eyelids. It took her a moment to realize that the light was probably too strong, and his concussion probably made it worse.

His mom seemed to be tearing up, clutching his hand tight, and he flinched slightly as her grip gained strength, turning towards her. For a second, Sapphire thought it was a false alarm and Ruby had fallen back asleep, but then he opened his crimson eyes, red as the jewel he'd used to command Groundon five years ago.

His gaze was misted over with confusion and pain, and his expression reflected the same. He looked around at their happy faces, trying to piece together what was going on and where the heck he was, but his dry throat seemed unable to put voice to such questions.

He coughed a little more, and Sapphire quickly caught on. "Do ya need some water?"

"Yes please," he managed to say, feeling the remains of salt water like scratches in his throat.

Please? thought Sapphire as she grabbed a glass and started filling it. He usually isn't that polite to me...

"Here you go, Ruby," she said, handing him the cup, eagerly watching as he drained the whole thing in one go.

"Thank you," he said formally, looking strangely at her, stiff and unnatural.

Ruby, what's wrong with ya? wondered Sapphire. Did ya knock yer head harder than I thought?

"Do ya want more, Ruby?" she asked, taking the glass from his hand. But instead of saying yes or no, he simply repeated his name.

He repeated his name in a way that instantly made Sapphire freeze, as if she had been hit by a particularly powerful Ice Beam. "Ruby..." He paused, letting it sink in, filling the room with tense silence. "Is that... my name?"

***GASP* Cliff hanger! :D ... Not really, since I gave it away in the summary, but I hope the effect still hit you guys. Now without further ado, REVIEW REPLIES!**

**Chelseaj500: Chelsea! :DDDDDDDD *glomps* Nice to see you here. You would have known about the person who wants Ruby on the side, except you didn't read all the chapters I sent you... (I think the person's mentioned at the end of the chapter I sent you or something. I forget how much I gave you.) And look, I followed your advice. :3 AN is bolded! Thanks for the review buddy! :D**

**Fightergirl14: I've never been complimented for my grammar before... :3 It feels good to know that I actually do use good grammar, seeing I'm mainly writing late at night. XD I'm glad you like the beginning! Hope you're still pleased. ;) **

**tinemelk: I hope I can make the plot even more interesting for you. Thanks for the review! **

**Kimiko Heroux: Your review really made me smile. I'm glad I was able to make the characters feel at least semi-real for you. The story will get more dramatic later on, and I do hope you'll stay all the way! Thanks for the review! **

**Oh, I'd appreciate it if you spread this story around if you like it. *wink* *wink* *hint* *hint* Please review! And see you next week! :D***


	3. Chapter 3

***Would you believe I almost forgot to update? *sadness* ... I was too busy watching epic wi-fi Pokemon battles... And working on a Nuzlocke... And homework... and just being a nerd that can't concentrate on any one thing for more than five minutes at a time. :P So, here's the next chapter! :D Hope you guys enjoy! Review replies at the end. ;)***

Chapter 3

"What are you talking about, sweetie?" asked Ruby's mom, fretfully rubbing his head. "Stop joking around, it isn't funny. We've worried enough for a day."

His silence filled them all with disbelief as the truth sunk in. He wasn't kidding. He wasn't lying. He wasn't just messing with their heads. He was being dead serious.

"Ruby..." Even Norman was shocked beyond words, unable to find something to say. He settled for just answering his son's question, feeling pain wrench deep inside him. "Yes, Ruby is your name."

"Ruby, do ya recognize me?" asked Sapphire frantically, desperation and fear seizing her and filling her with a chill deeper than Sheer Cold. "Don't ya remember me? Yer best friend? Sapphire?"

"No... I don't remember seeing any of you ever before." He looked over beside the bed, where Zuzu was crouched, staring at its trainer with a worried expression. "Is that a Pokemon? What kind is it? I've never seen anything like it before."

"This is Zuzu," said Sapphire, finding it suddenly hard to speak, walking over to the Swampert, which was growing increasingly panicked. "He's your Swampert. You've owned him for the past five years, ever since he was a Mudkip. He's the Tough component of your Dream Team, show him all the ribbons you two won together, Zuzu!"

The blue water Pokemon turned around and flashed its dark gray back fin, lined with the yellow ribbon that signaled victory in a tough contest, waving the tail as if it would help Ruby recognize the awards better. But the boy's expression remained clueless.

"My... Pokemon?" he repeated, sounding dumbfounded. "I know this Pokemon as much as I know you."

Sapphire felt as if her heart was breaking in two. She'd been preparing herself for a Ruby depressed at being deprived the chance to enter one of the most important competitions of his life, but instead, she'd been given a Ruby who couldn't remember his own name. His Pokemon. His parents. And even her.

And his words, they were true. Ruby was as close with each and every one of his six Pokemon as he was with her, understanding her as well as he could tell exactly when his Pokemon required the daily belly scratches and back rubs. But this Ruby was talking about nothingness. Nothingness that had suddenly taken the place of everything.

Zuzu looked stunned, as if he had been paralyzed by a Stun Spore attack, but he still frantically shook his tail and growled desperately, looking like an abandoned puppy. He looked ready to jump onto Ruby and faun, even though he was a little big for something that.

Norman hit the button to call the nurse, fist slamming into it with enough force to dent it. Ruby flinched at the sight of the bent metal, looking frightened at his father's strength. Ruby didn't look sixteen anymore- with the loss of everything that made him Ruby, the trademark arrogance, obsession over beauty (the Ruby she knew would have immediately freaked at the sight of Zuzu. The Swampert's legs were all encrusted with a layer of dried mud, something that Ruby would never ever ignore or place under anything other than immediate importance.), and the essence that was harder to describe, like how she imagined how it would have been when he woke up.

He would have groaned, perhaps adding on a couple extra for dramatic flair, looking up at all of them and asking, "Why the heck are you two here?" to his parents, a general "What happened?", perhaps an "Ow", and last but not least, a devastated shriek at the sight of Zuzu's dirtied skin, with a "What happened to Zuzu's precious skin? I spent hours trying to get all the forest muck off him a few days ago and now look at him!"

He would have complained quite a bit and probably could have gone on for a while before noticing his concussion, as he would have ranted on and on about the dirt covering Zuzu's flippers and fins, refusing to let anyone to interrupt him, even to answer his question. When he was distracted with grooming his Pokemon, he wouldn't realize the stinging pain in his head until the job was complete, most likely ignoring doctors that they called into the room, too concerned with cleaning his Swampert to care.

"Agh," hissed Ruby, clapping a hand to his forehead in pain, closing his eyed. "My head... it hurts."

"The nurse is coming, sweetheart," assured his mom, wrapping her arms around him as a show of familiarity, as if motherly affection could bring back his memories. "Do you think you need painkillers?"

"I... I don't know," replied Ruby, opening one eye to reveal a slit of rose, lying back down. "How bad does it have to hurt?"

"If you think you need them, you should get them," explained his mom, appearing to be on the verge of tears. "You probably should."

"I'm here. What is it you need?" asked a nurse, entering the room with a Chansey by her side, catching a glimpse of the Swampert in the corner, scrutinizing the muddy footprints in the ground. "I'm sorry, but could you return that Swampert? We would like the hospital floor to remain clean."

"My son has lost his memory. Please go get a doctor here, pronto," said Norman, eyes flashing dangerously along with his voice.

It took the nurse a second to process his words, but she smartly replied with an "Of course!" and exited the room quickly, her pink Pokemon running swiftly behind her.

"Are you my dad then?" asked Ruby in confusion, his tone interlaced with his pain. "Why can't I remember you?" The hurt in his voice was deep and more penetrating than his hisses of agony from the concussion, like a desperate cry for help. "Why can't I remember anything?" He sounded... scared.

"It's not yer fault," said Sapphire, making sure he didn't place any blame upon himself. "You hit your head hard against a rock... And... I guess you forgot everything."

"How did I hit my head? Am  
>I clumsy? Did I trip? When did that happen? Tell me." It was like a child's command, sounding almost ridiculous and obvious, but to the speaker, extremely important and serious.<p>

"Yer not clumsy," started Sapphire, feeling so strange, having to tell Ruby about himself. "Yer movements are always graceful and elegant, like yer Pokemon. Beautiful." She paused, realizing she had just called Ruby 'beautiful' straight to his face and she immediately blushed, instantly feeling embarrassment at having said it so directly.

But Ruby didn't seem to notice, or didn't know why there was red spreading over his cheeks like someone had knocked over a bucket of red paint, repeating the word, "Beautiful." It just didn't carry the same weight as his usual "Beautiful!" filled with unmatched enthusiasm and pride, and a touch of dreaminess.

"And ya love that word. Ya love saying it and using it. Ya use it on yer Pokemon all da time." Sapphire closed her eyes, thinking of all the times Ruby had exclaimed that word at the top of his lungs, eyes sparkling, his Pokemon showing off its shining coat with pride beside him. "All of yer Pokemon. Not just Zuzu. Nana, Coco, Popo, Ruru, and Mimi, especially Mimi."

"Who's Mimi?" he piped, curious. "What kind of Pokemon is it?"

Sapphire mentally measured the dimensions of the hospital room, ten feet tall, a little more than fifteen feet across and about the same for the width. With the added medical equipment, she highly doubted the huge almost dragon-like Milotic would be able to fit in such a confined space.

"There's not enough room for her to come out of her Pokeball. But ya can look at her." Sapphire quickly took Mimi out of the still-damp bag, carefully placing the Pokeball holding the beautiful Pokemon in Ruby's hands. "Isn't she pretty?"

"Yeah, I guess." His almost indifferent answer felt like a punch to her gut, and she decided to try a different angle.

"Ruby, what do ya think makes a Pokemon beautiful?" She remembered how he'd told her of Mimi's evolution (though he hadn't mentioned their confession on Mirage Island even the two events were barely hours apart) with a glowing smile, holding tightly to Mimi's neck, cuddling it every few sentences of his touching tale.

"I don't know. Does beauty really matter for Pokemon? They're supposed to be strong, aren't they? So they can battle and win." He observed the Milotic, turning the Pokeball around and examining Mimi, keeping one hand on his head to try and hold back some of the pain. "Is this Pokemon strong?"

Sapphire's mouth hung open. What had happened to him? To say beauty didn't matter and yet he mentioned strength in battling... She'd always thought of memory loss as something where a person had no idea of who they were but at least resembled their missing persona, but she didn't know this Ruby in the slightest. Who are you? she thought.

Before she could answer Ruby's question, the doctor entered panting, the Chansey right behind him. "He woke up? And you say his memory's missing?" said the doctor.

"Yes," confirmed Norman, a man of few words as always.

"Look, sweetheart, the doctor's here. You can get some painkillers now," said his mom, who was keeping her voice steady with effort.

Ruby nodded numbly, not really sure what to say. He looked at the doctor curiously, with scrutinizing eyes.

"I think we should examine his head injury now," said the doctor, looking at Ruby. "We would have done it last night, but there were more serious freak accidents that required immediate attention. That rain caused mudslides and flooding, and we didn't think his concussion could possibly result in memory loss." He doctor thought for a moment, and then said, "Let me perform a quick test. Is that okay with you, Ruby?"

"It's fine..." he replied uncomfortably, wishing the pain in his head would disappear already.

"What's 1+1," asked the doctor, holding up one finger on each hand as if to help him visualize.

"2?" Ruby sounded exasperated, something the Sapphire was finally able to recognize. Not everything had changed at the very least. "Why?"

"Read the letters here." He pointed to an eye chart on the wall, motioning for Ruby to get closer to read as the boy was squinting. "Don't strain your eyes though. You'll make the concussion worse."

"P. O. K. E..." Ruby's head started protesting in pain, and he grunted, on which the doctor gently pried him away.

"Okay. Ruby's only lost his memories, but not any necessary skills. In a worst case scenario, he'd still be able to live a normal life. I think he may be able to recover his memories though," answered the doctor before Sapphire and Ruby's mom could ask the question. "Don't go too hard on him though. I'm going to take Ruby to an examination room and better check his condition as a whole. You three can wait here for him. It won't be long. Come along, Ruby."

The boy obediently followed, and the door closed behind him, leaving the solemn trio, well, quartet if you counted Zuzu who was technically supposed to be in his Pokeball, behind.

"Why would Ruby say stuff about strength in Pokemon battling?" asked Sapphire aloud. "He hates battling."

"That's how Ruby was when he was a kid," said Norman, recalling the feisty tot Ruby had been, headstrong and always raring for a battle. "But he grew to hate how powerful he was. This Ruby is like his former self."

***Review Reply Time! :D **

**Kimiko Heroux: Yeah, I decided I might as well just get it over with, since I figured building up drama for a couple of chapters wasn't going to do me any good. :3 I hope I can continue the good air. ;D**

**FighterGirl14: I'm glad you said that, even though I was one day late. *sigh* Stupid ff . net, crashing on me... Thanks for the encouragement! ;D I will update in a week, so stay tuned!**

**paintersmurffan12: We'll see about other Dexholders... :3 *hint* *hint* Thanks for the review!**

**See you all next week! :D***


	4. Chapter 4

***Welcome back! (or just welcome if you've just found this) :D Ready for a new chapter? :3 (I'm in a suddenly good mood... I have no idea why. XD) I know I am! Don't feel like writing a long AN, so let's just get on with the story, shall we?***

Chapter 4

How Ruby used to be... Ruby never, ever talked about his past, never speaking more than few words on the subject if directly asked, which Sapphire had done quite a few times in attempts of making him admit he did remember the incident on Mirage Island.

She hadn't really gotten to know him too well in the few days' span she'd played with him as kids, but she knew he definitely was not the same. That little boy had had dreams of conquering the Pokemon League, proudly showing her his Pokemon's power as he challenged every wild Pokemon they had encountered in the leafy green forest.

"Look at my Nana's Hyper Beam! Coco's Iron Tail!" he had boasted, demonstrating the moves on a nearby boulder covered in moss since all the wild Pokemon had fled, quickly reducing it to a pile of rubble and dust. "My dad taught them how to do it! One day, I wanna teach Nana and Coco even stronger moves!"

"Wah!" exclaimed Sapphire, eyes glittering like the rhinestones on her frilly blue dress. "I wish I had Pokemon that strong. Hey, did ya know a kid from Kanto won the Pokemon League at just eleven years old! We gotta get strong quick so we can beat his record."

"I'm definitely going to." His Pokemon huddled in close, and he wrapped his arms around them, crimson eyes determined, his Pokemon holding the same dreams in their minds. "And then I'll beat him! Because I'm going to be number one!"

A rustle emanated from the bushes beside them and Ruby's red irises sparked with excitement, his Pokemon lining up in an offensive position in front of him, and Sapphire remembered how much he resembled those old recordings of Pokemon League matches that she and her father would watch together. Ruby was literally jumping with excitement until the rustles turned into loud stomps, and a loud roar filled the air, a shrill, shrieking cry, fierce and strong, quickly coming closer.

"What's happening?" Sapphire had clutched his shoulder in fear as he started turning to run, a dark shadow appearing over them, the flapping of wings swirling the leaves around them. She looked up slowly, stuck in her terror, looking up at the blue and red dragon with a menacing snarl on its face, baring its fangs and quickly diving down, straight towards he-

The Salamence had slashed out, and Sapphire screamed, ducking, closing her eyes, expecting the sharp claws to hit her, tear her skin into shreds, but at the sound of ripping cloth and a drop of blood landing on her cheek, she took a second look, shrieking with horror at the fresh, bloody cuts upon Ruby's face, though relatively shallow, where bleeding hard.

"I-I-" she started, trying to apologize for the wound that was obviously her fault, staring at him and then the Salamence, quailing under its glare. Its bloodthirsty gaze scared her like nothing had before, and she turned and ran, escaped the scene, leaving Ruby behind in her desperate bid for safety.

Behind her she could hear the sound of fighting, a yell of "Hyper Beam!" and "Iron Tail!" and "Confusion!" the commands loud and clear even though she knew Ruby was probably in severe pain. She wanted to run back and help, but her only Pokemon, Rono, a newly caught Aron her father had given her, would be no use, and she was too frightened, too weak, to aid him. Tears welled up in her eyes as she sprinted through the forest back to where she knew her father was waiting.

That was where her resolution to become stronger had come from, her guilt for not only being able to fight alongside the young Ruby, but for running away when he was in terrible danger. Her admiration for the headstrong friend she had made, confident in his power and battling skills, the strong Pokemon he possessed. Her desire to win at the Pokemon League, sparked by Ruby's promise of beating the record. All three had formed her promise. All three were because of Ruby. The Ruby she had hardly known, yet owed so much to.

"I remember him," said Sapphire, flexing her nails against the cloth of her chair. "He saved me from a Salamence. B-but I ran away and left him there."

"You were there when he fought that Salamence?" asked Ruby's mom, surprised. "All he would tell me is that he met a Salamence in the forest and battled it. I had a heart attack when he came home with those claw marks. I used to have to make him wear that hat everyday but he never had to be told after that."

"It was extremely rash of him," said Norman sternly, "to take on such a powerful Pokemon by himself. But we have to think of what to do right now. My son is hurt and doesn't remember anything. We need a starting place."

Sapphire thought for a moment- showing him his precious, beautiful Pokemon, not even Mimi, hadn't done a thing, and neither had the ribbons on Zuzu's tail, which displayed the awards of the last ten contests it had won. Of course, they had yet to let him see Nana, Coco, and Ruru out of their Pokeballs, and that was maybe a possible solution. But if his other Pokemon hadn't made an impression, then she couldn't depend on them.

She thought ahead to the festival, the contests, and the tournament, which would be held like the Battle Dome tournaments in the Battle Frontier, and remembered the participants. In the contest, Wallace would be there, and perhaps seeing his performance would help Ruby remember his passion for beauty. For a second, she considered making him enter, but then she realized that if Ruby did regain his memories, he would kill her for entering a contest that would most likely shame his reputation as a contest master. Not to mention the concussion.

"Can he walk around with da concussion?" asked Sapphire, not knowing too much about medical stuff. Perhaps the technology had advanced within the past ten years (most likely, but Sapphire could care less most of the time) and the pain of a concussion could be cured.

"They'll be able to speed up the healing process and give him medicine so he can't feel the pain," answered Norman, taking out a pamphlet on head injuries. "The doctors gave this to us last night when we arrived."

"How did ya get here so fast?"

"My Flygon. I rarely use it for gym battles because it hates battling in confined spaces, but it's a great Pokemon for travelling. We were called last night by a doctor, and since I was leaving for the tournament soon anyway, we were able to bring all our stuff over."

"Would Ruby be well enough ta come ta da festival with me? Maybe there'll be some familiar stuff there..." Or maybe after spending some time with me, something will come back...

"Not today," Norman replied quickly. "Tomorrow, maybe. I'm not a doctor, so I can't tell you."

"Sapphires, if you'd like to go to the festival, go right ahead. We'll tell you immediately if anything happens," offered Ruby's mom.

"No," said Sapphire, shaking her head. "I'll stay here for tonight again. I don't- I don't want ta leave Ruby right now."

"He's very lucky to have you, you know," chuckled Ruby's mom, eyes filling with sad nostalgia. "He's always talking about you at home and it's obvious you two are best friends. More than that."

Sapphire sat awkwardly with her mouth open, feeling red flush her face, unable to think of a reply.

"We're finished with the examination," announced the doctor, walking back into the room with Ruby behind him. "He's completely unharmed except for a bit of bruising and scratching, and that nasty concussion. But we'll have a Chansey help make the healing quicker, and give him more pain-killers so it won't hurt as much. He'll be tired for the next few days, and it's likely he'll sleep for most of the day."

As if to exaggerate the doctor's point, Ruby let out a massive yawn, stumbling a bit as he stepped towards the bed. "I'm sleepy," he mumbled.

"Then you better get some rest, sweetheart," his mother cooed, pulling a blanket over Ruby, who had crawled into the bed, and was already asleep. "Thank you," she said to the doctor.

"Don't mention it." The doctor let a Chansey out of its Pokeball, and the pink Pokemon charged to Ruby's bedside, dutifully starting to heal him. "Call me if you need anything. Just tell Chansey."

Ruby's mom sat up, looking gently at her sleeping son's face, which was sweet and innocent like a child's, and wrapped her arms around her husband, facing Sapphire. "Sapphire, my husband and I have to quickly check into a hotel room before all of them are taken. We'll make sure there's a bed for you and an extra one in case Ruby can leave the hospital soon. Can you watch over him?"

Sapphire nodded, light brown hair bobbing up and down. The two adults left the room, leaving her and Ruby nearly alone, save the Chansey, but it had moved to the head of the bed, allowing Sapphire to sit right by Ruby's side, staring at him, his relaxed pose, his long eyelashes, soft black hair, and the slight smile that played on his lips, like he was having a good dream.

What are you dreaming about, Ruby? thought Sapphire, unconsciously grabbing Ruby's hand and grasping it semi-loosely. Do you remember anything in your dreams?

His smile grew wider, and he let out a murmur, one that sounded a lot like the word, "Beautiful," which made Sapphire's heart skip a beat. There was plenty of hope left, right? If the unconscious Ruby sounded so much like his normal self?

"You guys are beautiful... As always..." he continued murmuring, hands reaching out as if to stroke the Pokemon he was dreaming about.

What would happen, wondered Sapphire, if I woke Ruby up right now? Would he remember everything? Or would it just disrupt his rest?

Suddenly, Ruby shivered, a small spasm running like an electric shock through his body, causing him to breathe fast and hard, like he was running. He sounded like he was in pain, little gasps coming out of his mouth.

His sleeping face was filled with terror, and Sapphire immediately panicked, no longer worried about something as unimportant as disrupting his rest- Ruby was having a nightmare, and she wasn't about to continue watching him writhe in agony.

"Ruby! Ruby! Wake up!" she commanded loudly, causing the Chansey to jump a little bit. "Wake up!"

"Whe- Where did all the water go?" he asked, panting, little drops of sweat breaking on his forehead. "I was drowning- but-"

"You were having a bad dream," she explained, staring pitifully into his frightened, confused eyes, which she had always known to be filled with confidence (and arrogance). "But it's okay now. I saved you. You're awake."

Acting on a mix of impulse and some kind of instinct Sapphire didn't know she possessed, she hugged Ruby's head in the crevice of her shoulder, her hands on the back of his neck, lightly touching the silky tendrils of hair, cool compared to the warmth of his head. It felt so solemn, so weird, foreign, for Sapphire to be holding Ruby so close, when he was so far away.

She knew what he'd say, Ruby's usual insulting (but not serious) rants on how dirty her hands must be and how it would take forever for him to get the filth of his pristine white hat and so on so forth. But he just remained silent, not saying a word, the two of them sitting there in their embrace, not awkward, just... there.

"I'm sorry... That was sudden," said Sapphire after a few long, yet short minutes, letting go of Ruby and staring into his mystifyingly enigmatic crimson eyes. "That was uncalled for."

He merely looked at her as if in a daze, not really reacting whatsoever. Sapphire quickly snapped her fingers in front of his face to test if he was even awake- she remembered a few nights in the Secret Base where Ruby had slept with his eyes open without her knowledge- and he jerked up, misty ruby orbs quickly clearing up.

"Your name is… Sapphire, right?" he asked, looking at her with mild interest, some admiration, like a little kid.

"Yeah, do you remember it, or do you just remember from hearing it earlier?" Sapphire hoped it would be the former, but chances were that it wasn't.

"I'm not sure," he answered truthfully, sleep marring his voice a little. "Maybe both? I don't know. I don't really know anything. I remembered something in my dream though. But I forget what it was now. Except the water. All the water."

"You can forget about da water, Ruby," said Sapphire, said Sapphire, feeling the urge to hug him again when he looked so... vulnerable, like he needed to be protected. By her. "I'm not going to let you drown again. Why don't you go back to sleep? I can take out your Ruru and she'll make sure you don't have bad dreams."

"Who's Ruru?" In response, Sapphire held up the Pokeball containing the Kirlia, feeling the now familiar sadness fill her heart yet again. It was do depressing to see Ruby in this kind of state. "This Kirlia? What moves does it know?"

"Confusion. Growl. I'm not sure about the others," admitted Sapphire. Ruby rarely used Ruru after all. "Why do you want to know the moves?"

"Those moves aren't very strong," he commented critically. "Why would I teach it such weak moves?"

"Because ya hate battling, Ruby. Ya love Pokemon Contests, not fighting. Can't ya remember at least that?" The moment the words left Sapphire's mouth, she was worried she sounded harsh and judgmental, but Ruby didn't really seem to notice. He took the Pokeball out and released the psychic-type, which smiled at him and let out a cute growl that made his mouth turn up a bit at the corner.

"Hello... Ruru," he said, the name sounding foreign on his tongue. The words hung awkwardly on the air.

"Ruru," said Sapphire. "Help Ruby get back ta sleep. He needs his rest. And make sure he doesn't have any bad dreams."

The Kirlia nodded, raising its arms, the red horns on its head glowing, causing Ruby's eyelids to droop and his body to sway, Sapphire catching him so his head wouldn't hit the hospital bed hard and gently laying him into the pillow.

Softly, she laid her fingers on his scar, his hair, which he'd never let her see, the marred skin rough beneath her finger tips, no hair growing where the Salamence's sharp claws had sliced the skin. She'd imagined a scene like this before in small fantasies, like in manga and movies, where the hero and his lover would be together, one asleep, the other gently stroking their face, completely relaxed and content in each other's presence. Except she'd imagined it while they lay together on the dirt floor (Sapphire had made Ruby remove some of the ridiculous carpeting from the entrance of the base, the closest he would come to a compromise) staring through the cavern opening to a night full of stars, the warm lull of a nearby flame easing them into slumber, the summer breeze blowing gently through their hair.

Ruby would smile gently before he slowly drifted off, his head settling in her lap, perfectly comfortable in her closeness. He would still wear his smile as her hand moved down to take off his hat (not sleeping material in her opinion), her blue eyes gazing at him with endearment, slowly closing as she too fell into the grasp of slumber.

But even if they were in a hospital, which smelled of disgusting medicines instead of the scent of flowers and water carried on the wind, which sounded of whirring machines instead of howls of Mightyena, the flapping wings of Beautifly, the skittering steps of Zigzagzoon, it still made her happy, because he was smiling in the safe dreams Ruru was creating, and her euphoria in seeing him look somewhat like himself. At least while he was dreaming, she couldn't see a difference in before and now.

***I wrote this chapter, like, two months ago... XD Long, long time ago... During Winter Break. So I don't really know what's going on in the earlier chapters anymore. Oh well- time for Review Replies! :D**

**ruby-loverr: Thanks! :D :D :D I hope I know their personalities well... I must have read the R/S arc at least fifty times in a row before writing this. XD (I love that arc so, so, so much...)**

**FighterGirl14: Looks like you've found my weakness... I'm not too good at writing long (probably because I tend to not put in a lot of dialogue), but I'll try my best in later chapters. ;) Promise. Thanks for the review!**

**A.R. 0w0v: I do that with some fanart and fanfiction too. XD It's hard to explain... XD Thanks for the review!**

**Join me again next week for chapter 5! (why am I so cheerful? I have no idea. I feel... hyper. Which is probably bad. Why? Because it's nearly time to go to bed. :P)**


	5. Chapter 5

***So sorry I'm late... ... decided that it didn't like me, and refused to let me upload Chapter 5. :P But here it is! And those of you who have been hoping to see other Dex Holders have had your wish granted. ;) You get to see them in this chapter! :D (I didn't include B/W or Sinnoh though, because they've never met canonically.)***

Chapter 5

Sapphire's Pokegear started ringing, and she quickly covered the sound before it could wake up Ruby, walking out of the room to answer the call. "Who is it?"

"Sapphire!" cried an all too familiar female voice. A particular senior that always had to be annoying someone. At the moment, it was her. "The rest of us just arrived on a ferry, you know, us 'dex Holders. Do you and Ruby want to meet up with us?"

Sapphire felt the urge to pop her senior's happy, bubbly, well, bubble. So not possessing much more self-control, she answered Blue in an icy voice that made even the cunning thief shiver. "I apologize, but Ruby nearly drowned on da way here, lost his memory, and we're stuck in da hospital. I don't think we can make it today!"

"Sapphire, slow down! What happened?" asked Blue worriedly. "How did he nearly drown? Is he okay?"

"We got caught in a huge storm on the way here. He got knocked off Walo by a giant wave, and if it weren't fer Zuzu, he'd have- have-" Suddenly, Sapphire envisioned the other possible result. Ruby's body, cold and completely still, floating atop the waves, beautiful eyes closed together. It wasn't the first time he'd nearly died in front of her... But this was hitting her the hardest. Because most of time, he'd be up and as peppy as usual the next day, either laughing or complaining the disaster and worries away. This time around, his silence and vulnerability was scaring her. So it wasn't so hard, wasn't so difficult, for her to suddenly break down in tears. "-died," she finally choked out.

Blue was silent for a few minutes, and Sapphire could hear traces of conversation between her and other faint voices, like Green's cool drawl, sounding slightly worried, the young man's way of expressing serious concern, Gold's hot-headed outburst of "Of course we have to go! That's my kohai in the hospital!", and Blue herself trying to explain without everybody jumping with questions at every word.

"So... Are we allowed to come in and visit? I'm sure a nice visit from all of us is bound to trigger something!" said Blue, trying to cheer Sapphire up, her tone light and eager. "What harm can it do?"

"He's supposed ta be resting. And ya guys would wake him up. Also, if he woke up and saw eight strangers in da room, he might panic." And I don't think it would be right if they saw him vulnerable like this... It just seems more... private. "So, no. We'll pass on that offer."

"How about tomorrow then? Take him to the festival with you and we can meet up, have some cotton candy, chill out, and have some fun!"

"He has a concussion. He's not supposed ta strain himself," said Sapphire, making another excuse, though Blue's idea did sound appealing.

"So we'll take it easy," the older girl amended, still persistent. "Come on, Sapphire! Let's make a deal. If he can be let out of the hospital tomorrow, come with us! Take his Pokemon too. We'll reserve a private picnic ground and you can help him get reacquainted with all his lovely Pokemon. Just give it a chance, please Sapphire?"

Sapphire hesitated, starting to cave in. After all, she had been planning to call up her seniors and invite them to go to the festival with her and Ruby before disaster struck. And Ruby most likely would have fun... "Fine."

"Awesome! Call me tomorrow once he's ready to go and we'll come up with a place!" declared Blue happily. "Don't worry, everything will be absolutely fine!"

"Who are we meeting again?" asked Ruby, tugging at his collar, looking nervous as Sapphire dragged him lightly through the festival crowd.

"Friends from different regions. Pokedex holders. Like us." Sapphire took out her Pokedex, an invaluable tool, and waved it, remembering that Ruby's was still in his bag, waterlogged and barely functioning. Salt water+Pokedex=Pokedex in urgent need of repair. "I'll help you figure out names later. I promised Blue we'd get there by ten, and it's already nine fifty-five!"

"Who's Blue then?" inquired Ruby, hungry for information. "How do I know her?"

"She's yer senior by four years or so. Ya first met her at da Battle Frontier where we fought off Guile, who turned out ta be da head of Team Aqua, Archie, who we thought ya got rid of half a year before that. Am I confusing you?"

"Yes," answered Ruby bluntly. "Start over and slow down please."

"Fine... Blue is an annoyin' person who loves ta tease da both of us. She loves to put us in awkward situations. Like the time she made one of her Pokemon use Attract on ya ta make ya temporarily fall in love with me." That had been... surprising, and completely embarassing for the both of them. For starters, a thirteen year old pinning his best friend to the ground and attempting to kiss her before waking up from the Pokemon attack simply looked wrong. Both of them had attempted to strangle Blue after that. But their senior had mysteriously disappeared on them that time.

"Want me to do it again? And who are you calling annoying?" Speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear. Wearing a mini-skirt and with pink Pokemon on either shoulder of course. "Admit it, you've missed me," teased Blue, giving Sapphire a quick noogie, completely messing up her hair.

Ruby looked at the young brown-haired woman tentatively, trying to figure out what to make of her. As his hat could not be found, Sapphire had resorted to patting hair over his double scar, hoping it would at least deflect attention from it. She mentally promised to buy him a new hat. Of course, Blue's eyes were some of the sharpest around.

"Ruby! When did you get that scar? Poor thing. Are you okay? Your big sister Blue has been worried," said the woman, figuring familiarity was the way to go. After all, approaching Ruby like a stranger wasn't bound to do much, was it? Nope, I'd she acted normally, it was more likely to get results. Hopefully.

"Um... I'm not sure. But I feel.. okay I guess? Dizzy?" he replied weakly, cowering under the onslaught of Blue's... big sisterness. Or just Blue in general, it was hard to tell.

"He's had da scar since childhood," brushed off Sapphire, skillfully skirting off the topic. It was a story that didn't really belong to other people. She'd tell it to Ruby later. "Where are the others?"

"Ferris Wheel. They should be getting off right about-"

"Blue!" called out Red, running with Green right beside him. "Have you found Ruby and Sapphire yet?"

"Here," she presented, signaling to her underclassmen with a flourish of her arms. "Remember that Ruby isn't... his normal self."

Like you bothered ta try... thought Sapphire, rolling her eyes. Ruby still looked slightly nervous, pulling uncomfortably at his collar. Ya scared him... Can't ya see that at least? Even I haven't been that open…

"Hey, Ruby!" said a shy-looking blonde, a small smile on her face as she stepped up to the boy, holding her hand out for him to shake. "My name is Yellow! Nice to see you again!"

Ruby seemed relieved that this shorter girl was not attacking him. "Hello... Yellow," he said quietly, taking her outstretched hand and giving it a quick shake. "You seem like a nice person."

"Gee... Thanks!" The girl replied, her bright smile growing wider. "You're a nice guy too, Ruby! You helped groom all my Pokemon once! They looked do pretty afterwards!"

Yellow and Blue were the only ones who didn't really mind Ruby smearing make-up all over their Pokemon. Yellow simply didn't care and simply laughed as her Pokemon were brushed under Ruby's skillful hands and Blue enjoyed the chance to give her Pokemon some more pizazz. After an unfortunate incident involving Charizard, Pika, mascara, and lipstick, Red and Green refused to let Ruby bring his bag of Pokemon make-up anywhere close to them, especially seeing they'd said 'no' beforehand. Gold, Silver, Crystal and Emerald simply followed suit. Blue filmed the whole thing.

"I'm good at grooming Pokemon?" asked Ruby, in more of a 'I see' way than a 'Really?' "That's... interesting."

"I have a picture!" piped up Yellow helpfully, pulling a camera out of her small gold purse. "After Blue told us what happened yesterday, I looked through my computer for any pictures I had of you or your Pokemon! Look! This is you and my Chuchu! See how pretty she looks?" In the picture, Chuchu had been given an adorable look (not that she hadn't already been absolutely unbearably adorable), her cute eyes striking with long lashes that looked natural, a bit of dark gold eyeshadow around the rims, and a cute hat Ruby had sowed on whim, completing the image.

"It's really cute!" he commented, taking the camera from Yellow. "But I like doing make-up? That seems a bit... weird."

Sapphire chuckled weakly. Funny that Ruby would finally realize that once he'd lost his memory. He'd usually fiercely defend his less-masculine hobbies and refuse to admit they were completely girly in nature, but it seemed he hadn't retained that part of him either. So... strange.

"It's not that bad," comforted Sapphire, taking her place alongside Ruby once more. "Alright! Introduction time! Ready, Ruby?"

"I guess?"

"This is Red, he's a Pokemon League champion, and is our senpai by four years, like Blue." Red waved, turning away from his active discussion on Pokemon battle tactics with Green. "And this Green, he's da same age as Red, and he's a Gym Leader!" Green looked over and gave a nod. Then he turned back. "He ain't da most friendly guy," she whispered to Ruby, who cracked a grin. "And this is Blue, who ya already know. These two are Gold and Silver. Gold's da one holding da big stick and with da goggles on his head-"

"It's a billiard cue! It's not a stick!" interrupted Gold as Silver rolled his eyes.

"Let Sapphire get on with it." Silver shifted his red hair out of his steely eyes. "Continue."

"Um..." Sapphire cleared her throat as Ruby started to look somewhat confused. It probably was a lot to take in at once. Eight new faces when he was still adjusting to her's and his parents'. "And this is Crystal. She's caught every Pokemon in da world? Ain't that right?"

"Not all of them," said Crystal modestly. "I couldn't catch the legendaries, at least not all of them."

"Close enough, Crystal! The amount of Pokemon you've caught is amazing!" said another small blond, except this one had green eyes, abnormally long eyebrows, and a bright viridian gem stuck in the middle of his forehead. He smirked as he looked over to Ruby. "And I'm Emerald! My Sceptile beat your Milotic once! It was a really close battle though! I'd love to do it again. Do you remember how to battle?"

"I- I'm not sure..." answered Ruby, hesitant as usual. "I can remember some moves and stuff, but everything's a blur."

"How about we go at it then?" asked Emerald. "A casual battle! Maybe you'll remember something! Whaddaya say?"

"Emerald, he has a concussion," started Sapphire, not sure that she should let Ruby participate in something as intense as a Pokemon battle.

"We'll go easy. Just one Pokemon. And I'll give him a type advantage. What do you say, Ruby?"

"Sure? Now which Pokemon should I use?" He held out his Pokemon, which Sapphire had given to him, allowing Emerald to carefully look over each one.

"Use your Mightyena. I'll use Dusknoir. Ghost-types are weak against Dark- types."

"My Mightyena... eh... Neh, Sapphire, what's this one's nickname again? You told me but I forget. My head was hurting when you were talking yesterday," said Ruby apologetically, releasing the wolf-like Pokemon from the ball.

"Her name is Nana. Ya've had her since you were really little." I'm pretty sure at least... "Yer Dad gave her ta ya"

"Nana... She looks really cool, don't you think? Hey there, Nana." He patted his Pokemon's fur, smiling as it barked happily, happy for its master's attention.

Cool... thought Sapphire. Does he remember that, or is it just a coincidence? I didn't talk about Nana's category... At least I don't remember talking about it...

"Let's head to an open place," said Emerald. "Like our picnic reservation. Crystal packed tuna salad sandwiches!"

"Sure. I'm starving!" said Red, and beside him, Green rolled his eyes. "Just because some of us forget to eat for a day because of training doesn't mean all of us do, Green!"

"It's called fasting! Fasting! It makes you stronger! I didn't forget! I did it on purpose!" argued the brown-haired boy. "Some of us aren't wolves when it comes to eating, that's all."

"Those two love ta argue with each other," said Sapphire, recalling how often the two senpai would enter a friendly verbal spar. As far as she could remember, they were some of the only times she'd ever hear her green-eyed senior talk.

They love ta argue... Just like us, Ruby, she wanted to say, but it felt too solemn for such a happy moment, buzzing with energy. All of her friends were trying to make things happy and upbeat- she should be trying harder to do so as well. Everyone worked better in a happy atmosphere, and Sapphire was sure that applied to memory recall.

"Dusknoir, go!"

"Go, Nana!"

The two Pokemon were released from their Pokeballs in a brilliant flash of light, spinning to face each other, the luminous gold of Nana's eyes glaring into the Dusknoir's single red eye as the two circled slowly, waiting for their trainer's command.

"Do you know your Pokemon's moves?" asked Emerald across the field, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Do you need to borrow a Pokedex?"

"Take mine, Ruby," said Sapphire, handing him the red device. He turned it over a couple times in his hands, turning it on with a click of a button. "'kay, now ya gotta hit this, and now it'll show ya how Nana is doing and how much she's hurt and what moves she can do. It can also show ya status conditions and everything, so it's really useful. You got it?"

"Yeah," replied Ruby, summoning up his knowledge of Pokemon battles. It seemed to be one of few- if not the only- thing that he could remember well, just not the Pokemon involved. He could feel the confidence soaring through his veins, the power he held in his command, and knew that he could win the battle as long as he remained focus. "I know what to do."

"Then what are ya waiting for? Give Emerald's Dusnoir a nice blow ta da face!" cheered Sapphire as Ruby finished looking through Nana's attacks.

"Nana, start off with Howl!" commanded Ruby, and the Mightyena arched its back, letting out a vicious roar, making the hair on everyone's neck tingle with surprise and fear. In the midday sun, Nana's black fur shone like light on metal, the kind of look that would have had Ruby stop the battle and take a few minutes to take pictures. But not now. This Ruby wanted to fight. Sapphire could see it in the fire that had erupted in his eyes. "Now, use Odor Sleuth!"

Sapphire nodded her approval. Dusknoir being a Ghost-type, many of Nana's normal-type moves would be unable to damage it, including its strongest attack, Hyper Beam. With the Mightyena's increased attack and ability to use any move to take down Emerald's Pokemon, Ruby had the advantage from the very start of the battle.

"Dusknoir, freeze Mightyena with your Blizzard attack!" shouted Emerald, not willing to be outdone. With his Pokemon's large variety of powerful attacks, he was sure he could beat Ruby, even if his opponent was incredibly strong. In fact, Emerald could feel Ruby's power, the strong aura emanating from the teen, so much different from the last time they had fought. Emerald forgot he was supposed to be going easy. He was going to go all out to win.

Nana was swept up by the freezing winds, buffeted by snow and ice while Ruby quickly formulated a plan to counter the Blizzard attack. "Nana, use Roar to clear out the Blizzard and to knock Dusknoir back!"

The Mightyena opened its mouth wide, revealing sharp teeth (shining white of course- Ruby never failed to brush its teeth to keep them in 'perfect condition) as it let out another powerful Roar, this one more forceful, pushing back the winds and even causing the Dusknoir to stumble back a couple of feet, now surrounded by its own Blizzard attack. "Now, Nana! Hyper Beam while it's unable to dodge!"

It took barely a second for the move to charge, and the solid beam of energy struck Dusknoir right in the center, sending it flying backwards, hitting the ground with a thud. To all the onlookers, it looked like Ruby had already won the battle, but both Ruby and Emerald knew that Dusknoir wasn't done yet.

"While Mightyena's recharging, use Will-O-Wisp to burn it!" To everyone's surprise, the Dusknoir rose immediately, sending the bright blue flames to the temporarily frozen Mightyena, surrounding it and singing its fur.

Ruby would normally immediately call the battle quits and fuss over the now burnt edges of Nana's fur, taking scissors and expertly cutting off the hair that couldn't be saved, carefully brushing the strands that could be salvaged until they were back to normal. Sapphire almost expected it to happen, Ruby's usual 'sissy fit' as she had dubbed it, seeing it happened every time Toro went against Nana in their daily training battles, but Ruby was unfazed.

"Nana, use Sucker Punch!" Quick as a flash, the Mightyena was already at Dusknoir's side, clubbing it in the side of the head with a powerful paw, claws extended, leaving slashes as the Dusknoir fell back, severely damaged by the Super Effective attack.

"It's not over yet! Dusknoir, Fire Punch while Mightyena's still close!"

"Dodge and use Take Down!" Nana swiftly jumped over the flaming fist, launching itself at the ghost Pokemon and tackling it to the ground, where it remained still.

Sapphire counted in her head, wondering if the Dusknoir was still capable of fighting. _Ten, nine, eight, seven…_

"Dusknoir's down," sighed Emerald, plopping down the ground, obviously upset. "Dang it! And I thought I could win for sure! This sucks!"

"Well, you did give him the type advantage," Crystal reminded him, patting him on the head like an older sister would. "And you probably underestimated him as well. I didn't realize Ruby was so strong. The last time… Well, it was five years ago. Probably not a good way to judge."

"Is anything coming back ta ya, Ruby?" asked Sapphire, looking over at his smiling face. "Anything at all?"

All of a sudden, his smile faded, replaced by an apologetic grown. "Not really... But this battling... feels familiar. Did I really hate battling? Because it's quite fun." He held his hand out and Nana bent her head, letting herself be rubbed with a toothy grin. "I also feel like I know this Pokemon really well if that helps. I just don't remember anything about it."

"Well, progress is progress!" encouraged Sapphire heartily. "Don't worry, Ruby, we'll get ya back ta normal in no time! By da way, here's a potion for Nana. Ya probably don't feel like runnin' ta a Pokecenter right now, do ya?"

"Thanks," he replied, spraying the healing liquid over the areas where Dusknoir had burned Nana, the wolf letting out what sounded like sighs of relief.

"Who wants sandwiches?" offered Crystal, taking out a whole box of them. "Take as many as you want! I packed plenty!"

"We should get shome fair food too, Krysh," said Gold, his mouth filled with bread and tuna salad. "I mean, we're already," he took another bite, "here, sho we should get shomething schpecial!"

"Don't talk with your mouth full!" scolded Crystal, rolling her eyes as he simply chuckled. "It's rude and disgusting."

He gulped down his food, the sandwich completely disappearing into his stomach. "Fine. Come on, Silver, let's get some food."

"Get your hands off me," argued the red-haired boy, pulling his wrist free. "Go by yourself. I'm only going when I'm ready for dessert."

"Come on!" whined Gold annoyingly. "Didn't that Gyoza stand we passed earlier look great? And what about the Sausage stand? Those don't count as dessert."

"But Hoenn's famous Lavaridge cookies and Tropius fruits do. So go by yourself."

"Fine, be a jerk," said Gold disappointedly, heading off on his own.

"I really feel like battling after watching that," commented Red, walking over to Ruby. "How about we have a quick match after lunch? One Pokemon each."

"Sure, you're on!" said Ruby before Sapphire could think about it. "Which Pokemon are you going to use?"

"That's a secret," said Red, winking. "Your Pokemon'll be a secret to me too."

There was suddenly an explosion; one that caused the earth itself to rumble, and Sapphire swore she could see cracks running across the ground. Fire burst inside the festival, merry sounds of celebration turned to screams of fear.

They stood frozen for a second, watching as the fire started to devour everything in its path, sending the occasional spray of red into the air as it found something flammable to destroy.

Then Crystal's shocked cry broke through their stupor, "Gold! He's in those flames!"

***ZOMG Long chapter. O.o I'm surprised at the length... It all started out so merrily... And then... Disaster strikes! :D Teehee! XD Review Reply time(literally, there's one review. :P)!**

**paintersmurffan12: Thanks so much. :3 I'm glad you like it. :D Hopefully you liked this as well. ;) **

**See you guys next week! (in the hopes that I regain 's favor. :P)***


	6. Chapter 6

***Gasp! I wonder what's causing this fire... :3 XD Three reviews last chapter! :D Yay! Can we aim for four? Please? (let's all be overachievers. :P) Writing an outline for a research paper... So long... And boring... The outline's three pages and an extra line or two on the fourth page... X_X I had a volleyball tournament yesterday and I got second place! :D Much better than last in the previous tournament... But enough about me! Onwards! Towards adventure! (towards the next chapter!)* **

Chapter 6

"Golduck, go stop those flames!"

"Feraligatr, use Hydro Pump!"

"Gyara, Poli, you guys help too!"

"Turtly, follow them!"

"Come on, Omasuke!"

In flashes of red, each Pokemon was released almost simultaneously from its Pokeball, not even pausing to catch their bearings. Not losing a second, they charged forwards, powerful ice-cold water shooting from their mouths like a steady horizontal waterfall, their attacks conjoining to form one solid beam of water, extinguishing any patch of fire unlucky enough to touch it.

The five trainers, Green, Silver, Red, Blue, and Yellow sprang immediately into action, running behind their racing Pokemon, continuously shouting orders, like "Over there too!" and "Save that boy!", as they dove into the inferno, intent on rescuing as many people as possible- including Gold. Crystal cursed herself for leaving her water-type Pokemon behind. All she could do was watch- after all, going after the quartet was dangerous. Even with their combined power, the fire still was strong, resparking where it had been previously put out, unwilling to be killed so easily. It was as if the flames had a life of their own.

Beside her, Sapphire was panicking, Walo and Reli still being at the bay in the ocean, leaving her incapable as well. She had to contribute somehow, but without water-type Pokemon... She looked next to her and found an answer.

"Ruby, let Mimi and Zuzu help! They're both water-types!" urged Sapphire, grabbing the two Pokeballs from his waist before he could respond and releasing them. "Zuzu, Mimi, use a combo water attack!"

Sapphire expected a wave of water to start crashing down, but the two Pokemon didn't move, looking instead to their master, who was frantically checking their moves in his Pokedex, fumbling with the buttons. "Give it a second… Let's see… What moves do you two have? Here's some good ones- Mimi, use Water Pulse! Zuzu, use Surf!"

The almost metallic looking ring of water burst from the Milotic's mouth, pulsating vibrantly as sunlight rippled through it, forming mini rainbows in its path. Zuzu's Surf attack refused to be outdone, the massive waves rising higher and higher as it approached the blazing festival tents, right behind the Water Pulse.

Then all of a sudden, the sun started blazing, scorching the land like a torch, evaporating most of the water before it was able to reach the flames, which conpletely revitalized, leaping higher and higher as their appetite grew stronger, the new life blown into them giving them unpredictable ferocity, the orange red flickers much like a powerful fire Pokemon, perhaps the legendary bird Moltres, fast, strong, and when in the mood, extremely aggressive.

"Someone must be using Sunny Day!" realized Emerald, wiping sweat off his forehead with one of his overly long sleeves. The heat was already getting to his head, and was forming mirages in the empty air. "We have to get the weather back to normal or there's no way we can put out the fire!" We'll all die!

"Weather..." muttered Ruby, remembering how Sapphire had done a quick run through of his Pokemon with him earlier. If he wasn't mistaken...  
><em><br>"This is Ruru, she's your Smart Contest Pokemon along with Popo here. Popo is a special Pokemon, it's changed the weather to save our lives a couple times. Of course, it can only affect a small area most of the time, but it's still really helpful. Even a patch of rain or sun can be extremely useful." The small gray Pokemon had been smiling, floating around in its Pokeball like a a stray snowflake. Ruby grabbed the Pokeball off his belt, noting with surprise that it had grown a fiery red crest around its head, giving it a completely different appearance. The Pokedex informed him in a mechanic voice that Castform changed appearance in the weather. He wondered how it'd look in the rain. _

Sapphire looked over, seeing Ruby's surprise. "Let it out! Let it use Rain Dance! Otherwise, everyone here'll all be burnt ta crisps!"

In one swift, fluid movement, Ruby through the Pokeball through the air, skillfully having it land just feet before the quickly approaching flames. "Popo, use Rain Dance! Zuzu, Mimi, use Surf and Water Pulse again once it starts raining!"

Sapphire felt the first droplet on the tip of her nose and kicked it as it fell onto her lips. The water was sweet and cool, and as the rain gained power, steam fumed from all around, the fight between fire and water going strong, though the latter was gaining the advantage.

Popo looked as if she were struggling a little bit, continuously expanding the range of Rain Dance, much farther than she had managed before, and Sapphire wondered something. Where had the fire come from? A fire of such strength, and the Sunny Day attack, couldn't simply be an accident. There was someone behind this! There simply had to be! Which meant... Her intuition told her, Popo could be in danger!

"Rono, protect Popo!" she cried at once, releasing the ferocious Aggron as it leaped out of the Pokeball, hitting the ground with a loud, heavy thud. It quickly maneuvered through the mud to the now blue, orb-crested Pokemon, just in time to be knocked over by a flash of red and white. "Rono! Quick! Use Protect!"

A translucent green sphere wrapped around the steel-armored Pokemon and the Castform, deflecting what appeared to be soaring beams of blue and red and white. Emerald caught on fast, seeing their only hope being threatened, and followed by Crystal, they let out their Pokemon to now try and ward off the near-invisible attackers.

"Dusknoir! Be prepared to launch Shadow Ball immediately!" commanded Emerald, eyes searching through the rain for traces of the opponent. Why do I feel like I know who I'm fighting...? he wondered. This aura... feels familiar. It can't be! "Go, Mr. Mime!" The clown-like Pokemon jumped out, prepared for battle. Emerald saw the flash of red. "Use your new attack, Thunder Wave!"

There was a high-pitched squeak, and for a second, it was as if the world was paused, the rain droplets freezing in place, unmoving, the people and Pokemon around him deathly still. Latias froze, unable to fly, dropping to the ground, trying to free itself from the paralysis, but to no avail. It was already too late.

Latias, why? thought Emerald, turning his gaze back towards the sky where the lightning streak of blue still tenaciously raced. Then Latios must be here too!

"Mr. Mime, make sure Latias doesn't escape by fainting it with your Shadow Ball attack! Dusknoir, take down Latios!"

"Megaree, use Poison Powder!" Over his shoulder, he saw the Meganium release the specks of purple dust into the air, like a powdery spider web, catching its target just as efficiently. But Latios was a better battler than its companion.

Out of nowhere, for Latios was still moving too fast to see, a bright blue ball of pure energy, Luster Purge, was shot at Meganium, who just barely managed to nullify it with a well-timed Light Screen. The green Pokemon was obviously injured by the powerful attack though, and was barely standing. That was when the poison started to take its toll.

Emerald always imagined poison to be kind of like bee stings, just more severe, starting with one lone prick and multiplying as the seconds flew, eventually stopping the opponent Pokemon in its tracks as the toxin did its work. "Dusknoir, use Shadow Punch!" And the super effective move sealed the deal.

Latios cried out, a drawn-out screech as it too plummeted down to the earth beside Latias. The two Pokemon looked like angels fallen from the sky, battered and dirtied from the drop from heaven's gates.

Emerald walked up to the two prone figures, eyes shadowed over, the green completely unreadable. "Latias, Latios, why are you doing this? Are you two the ones behind the attack?"

"Rald, forgive us," said Latios, its voice strong in Emerald's mind, familiar as it was four years ago. "Pokemon must follow the commands of their masters. And this is what our master has ordered."

"What?" exclaimed Emerald, causing everyone to leap, managing to lower the volume as he continued. "Latios, you two were captured? How? By who?"

"He goes by no name that I know... But he aims for..." The Pokemon's head flopped to one side, the poison finally fainting Latios. Emerald spoke not a word.

"Ruby! Da fire's clearin' up!" cheered Sapphire as Mimi and Zuzu beat back the flames as their intensified water moves quelled the tongues of fire in seconds. "Great job!"

"I'll stay out here and keep Popo, Latias, and Latios protected while you three go in and find everyone else," said Crystal, spraying a Hyper Potion onto her severely damaged Megaree.

"Crystal, I'll stay," offered Emerald, taking her place kindly, grabbing the potion and rubbing it all over the Meganium's injuries. "You want to find Gold, don't you? You'd be too worried sitting out here alone. I can try and communicate with Latias- she didn't take as much damage as Latios I think."

"But Emerald-"

"No buts! It's settled. Sapphire, Ruby, take her with you two, would you?" he asked, rubbing Latias's head, trying to wake it up.

Sapphire nodded, her glare to the older girl saying 'You either run by yourself or get dragged by me.' Crystal chose the former option, starting to job away towards the still burning fairground.

Sapphire grabbed Ruby's hand, and started pulling him, frantic "Come on, Ruby! Ruby?" called Sapphire, tone fading into a mix of horror and surprise.

Ruby had fallen to his knees, clutching his head in pain. He looked as if he were panting, eyes closed as his fingers dug into his scalp. "Help..." he whispered, unable to speak any louder. "It's so cold... And it hurts so much!"

"Crystal, go on without us!" Sapphire ran over to Ruby, who opened his left eye a slit to see her, the red dull and hazy. Sapphire placed her hand on his forehead, feeling the heat emanating, like a furnace, from his wet skin.

A fever now! she thought, frantically going through her bag for the pain medication. This is bad! In this rain, it's only going to get worse, but we have to make sure it keeps raining until we're sure the fire's gone for good! And even if I use Toro to keep him warm, the fire'll be put out immediately!

"Emerald, do we have an umbrella?" she demanded, shielding as much as Ruby as possible with her body, though the rain still poured through to meet him. "Ruby has a fever!"

"A fever? How?"

"His immine system or somethin' is weak! The doc said so! Da sudden temperature change probably caused it! But just answer my question!"

"We don't have an umbrella! Crystal just planned to run under a tent if it rained, and the forecast said clear weather! Do you have any Pokemon that can keep the rain from him?" Emerald came over, keeping one eye peeled on the Pokemon he was guarding. "How about that one? You can use the leaves!"

"Pilo, cover Ruby with your leaves!" The Tropius draped its leafy wings over the now unconcious teen, making them entirely rain proof, creating a dry space beneath. "Toro, help warm him up!"

"So you three managed to take down Latias and Latios... It doesn't matter; they were the weakest of my Pokemon anyways." A cloaked figure walked up to them, a smirk visible behind the shroud. "So much for being legendary. My Gengar is more powerful than both combined." The dark purple ghost Pokemon stepped out from behind the man, red eyes glinting with malice.

"Are you the one who's doing this?" asked Emerald, eyes glinting ferociously, looking like a cornered cat, small but violent. "Why did you make Latias and Latios do this?"

"Pokedex holder, Emerald. Orphan, previously befriended the legendary Psychic Pokemon, Latias and Latios, am I correct? I've done my research on all of you troublemakers. You might have stopped all of those idiots before me, but I'm ready to take on the ten of you." His voice was filled with arrogance, honey sweet, and Emerald could see dark, swirling silver eyes. "I want to take over this world, Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, everything. And I've already captured all the Pokemon I need."

"Take over the world?" screamed Emerald, seething with anger. "Are you crazy? And you're going to do evil things like this?"

"This was to announce my presence, and to test out my control over two- how do I put this?- feisty Pokemon. They don't obey orders as much as I'd like them to, but I'm sure that can be easily resolved." He turned towards Ruby and Sapphire; the latter growled protectively as he stepped towards them.

"I'll defeat you here and now!" she declared, sending out Rono, keeping Toro and Pilo by her side to keep Ruby guarded. "Rono, Double-Edge!"

The attack passed right through Gengar, which cackled an eerie, chilling laugh, turning and firing a orange ball of energy at the skidding Aggron, which was still trying to stop after its charging tackle. "Gengar, Focus Blast!"

"Dusknoir, take the hit!" commanded Emerald, joining the battle, the ghost Pokemon easily absorbing the attack. "Like hell I'm going to let you win!"

"2 vs. 1 isn't truly fair you know," snickered their opponent, who was tossing a Pokeball up and down. "I'll release another one of my allies to even it out. My other partner, Salamence!"

The turquoise dragon immediately entered a wrestling match with the surprised Rono, paws, claws, and vicious bites being passed between the two as they brawled. Gengar now charged a purple ball in its hands, allowing it to grow until it was large enough to engulf Dusknoir's entire body, launching it at the other ghost-type, knocking it out in one swift go.

"Dusknoir!" exclaimed Emerald, grimacing. "It's not over yet, go, Sceptile! Use Leaf Blade to defeat Gengar!"

"You should know better, Emerald. Aren't you the Pokemon strategist? Or have you forgotten Gengar's other type? Gengar learns no powerful poison-type moves by level-up, but with a single technical machine, it gains an immensely powerful attack! Sludge Bomb!"

"Of course I knew!" snickered Emerald, feeling the sheer adrenaline of battle rush through his veins. He hadn't been lying when he said he liked the Pokemon, but he had been when he said he disliked battling. "But my Sceptile is fast, and can avoid it!" Proving itself worthy of its master's trust, the Sceptile skillfully evaded each blob of purple sludge, twirling this way and that way as it finally made its way directly to the target. "Now, Sceptile! Use continuous endless Leaf Blade!"

The Gengar tried to evade the slashing claws, but they came too fast and strong for it to retaliate. Sceptile was too close for it to attack, and too powerful for it to defend itself.

"How do you like that?" challenged Emerald, looking at the now silent man. "Too much?"

"Say, have you forgotten something?" As if on cue, Rono's battered body crashed down from the sky, barely missing Sceptile, and giving Gengar the chance it needed to escape. "This happens to be a Double Battle!"

"Sceptile, move out of the way!" cried Emerald frantically as the Salamence moved in for the final blow. It would only take one hit from the mighty dragon to take out his beloved grass-type starter. "Quick, Sceptile!"

"Too late! It's a combo attack from my two Pokemon! Gengar uses Psychic to hold Sceptile in place, while Salamence-" The man snapped his fingers, and the Salamence let out a mighty roar as it bore down from the sky, claws outstretched. "Uses Fly!"

There wasn't even time for Sceptile to turn around before the Salamence clawed it on its downward descent, quickly taking care of the grass-type.

"Sceptile!" Emerald wanted to run over to his fainted Pokemon, but with this man's obvious strength, such a decision could be life-threatening.

"Pity it's raining. I would have burnt your Sceptile to a crisp with a Fire Blast, but the power would have decreased too much for that." He smiled as Emerald reached for another Pokemon, Sapphire reaching for one of Ruby's. "I'll have you know it's pointless to battle. These are not my strongest, though they are my favorite and most loyal. I won't stop you if you wish to continue though."

Was he bluffing? Emerald looked at his fainted Sceptile, towards his knocked out Dusknoir and injured Mr. Mime. Or was it really all that hopeless? Would his other Pokemon suffer the same fate?

"What do you want from us?" he asked, sounding defeated. Sapphire let out a sound of protest, but was cut off by another moan of pain from Ruby, who was completely oblivious to the battle around them.

"My Pokemon require a medium to fully control them. My capture of the two makes it so I can give them basic commands, but to be able to have them battle to the same extent as my Salamence and Gengar- well, I need someone who has controlled them before. And in front of me is someone who has controlled both. Who unknowingly still holds the power in his hands." He turned his silver gaze to Ruby. "I want the boy."

"No." Emerald's reply was curt, brusque, and completely unmovable. "I will not turn one of my friends over to you."

"I promise you he would be returned mostly unharmed. And I'd allow you Pokedex owners to rule as lords under my reign in the future instead of ridding of you." Emerald didn't even waver at the bribe.

"Mostly unharmed?" he snarled. "Let us rule as lords? Fat chance. You'd kill him and us at the first chance you got."

"Very well, I gave you a choice." Sapphire tensed, holding Ruby tight to her body, as if holding him close would keep him from being stolen away. "Remember that in the future. Salamence?"

The dragon reared, eyes glittering with evil. It looked like... That Salamence that had attacked her so many years ago.

Red flashed in Sapphire's mind, and Ruby stirred as she clutched him too tight, staring at the dragon with unmatched fear, only half-awake. "It's here again..." he murmured, eyes closing. "I'm not strong enough to fight it off again..."

He remembers too... she thought, heart-pounding. This overwhelming fear, this helplessness...

"Back to the base," commanded the man, jumping on its back and flying away, the Gengar joining him for the flight. "You will regret your choice one day," he said, voice just loud enough for them to hear, returning Latias and Latios to their Pokeballs in one quick fluid motion.

But Sapphire would never regret refusing to hand over the boy she loved. And Emerald would never regret refusing to hand over one of his best friends.

***Who is this mysterious person? Any guesses? (it's not going to help. It's an OC I made up. :P) Why does he want Ruby? (that you _can_ guess. Though it's probably not obvious at all...) 'kay, review reply time! :D**

**paintersmurffan12: Thanks! :D I tried my best. I was sitting there thinking... Hm... Blue... I know! She loves to annoy the heck out of everyone (and I can imagine her being a hyperactive older sister who cuddles her 'lil siblings all the time...). I did one of those random spurts of inspiration for everyone. XD (it was hard trying to give each of them some screen time...) Glad you liked it!**

**Autumnbreeze-49: Yes, Blue. LOL. :3 Another LOL since this is the second time I've been complimented on mah grammar. :3 XD I don't think it's all that special... (It's harder to mess up in my opinion. Unless I'm saying 'So I herdz you liekz Mudkipz.' :3) Thanks for the review!**

**Kimiko Heroux: And Ruby's my favorite Dex Holder! :D As for shippings... FranticShipping, obviously. (because that's my OTP) Probably SpecialShipping, ChosenShipping (because I don't understand OldrivalShipping whatsoever), and maybe MangaquestShipping. However, I'm not really focusing on shippings much at all. -.-' Other than FranticShipping. Hope you're okay with that... Thanks for the review! :D **

**I was on ~yassui's Livestream today... :3 If you guys don't know who she is, check her out. Most amazing PokeSpe fanart ever... Anyways, back on track! Please leave me a review and let me know you read this! ;D Feel free to ask me questions! See you all again next week!***


	7. Chapter 7

***Hello readers! ^^ Welcome to Chapter 7! XD I've been working on a Nuzlocke comic, and progress is getting done slower than a snail... But enough about that! Here's the chapter!***

Chapter 7

Sapphire heard the footsteps first, approaching from the smoking remains of what was once a glorious fair, her sharp ears detecting seven different people coming towards them. The swirling smoke made it hard to see their faces, but at the sound of their voices, she felt tremendous relief, as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"Over here!" she called, gently laying Ruby down, making sure he wouldn't be hurt, waving her hands to signal to the figures. "Guys, over here!"

"I saw something fly away," started Silver as soon as he was in earshot distance, not wasting any time at all. " What was it? It looked like a Salamence to me, am I right?"

"It belonged to the person who started the fire," replied Emerald, tending to his injured Pokemon as well as Sapphire's, for the girl was too busy trying to revive Ruby, who was lost in fever and unconsciousness. "But there isn't time to talk right now."

"We need ta get Ruby ta da hospital right now!" said Sapphire fiercely, easily lifting him off the ground with a little effort. "He's runnin' a bad fever 'coz of that sun and rain. Do any of ya have any fast Pokemon that can carry him left? All of mine are knocked out, and Ruby's Zuzu and Mimi are too tired."

"Use Charizard," offered Green as Red said, "Use Aerodactyl."

"Mine's faster," they argued at the same time, causing Blue to roll her eyes at hit them both in the shoulder.

"Let's stop this before it gets out of hand. Just use Charizard-" she said as Red protested her. "Look, our kohai could be dying right now for all we know, and Charizard is more capable of taking heavy loads. After all, Sapphire wants to go with him, don't you?"

Blue wasn't that annoying after all, and Sapphire was thankful. She had to stay next to Ruby, to know he was all right. Even being a second behind in knowing his condition made her feel panicked, and what Blue said, though she completely blocked out one particularly frightening part, was true. Ruby's not dying. Not today, not tommorow, not while I'm here.

"I'm goin' with him no matter what!" she confirmed as Green released his Charizard, the fire lizard spreading its turquoise wings and bending down so Sapphire could climb on. "Thank ya, Green!"

Green simply nodded, as usual, not adding even a single word to his answer. Words were saved for arguing and insulting others. And for commanding Pokemon. And occasionally having a conversation. The last option happened approximately once in a blue moon. But in a crisis, it became as normal as breathing.

"Emerald," said Green, staring at the quickly disappearing form of his Charizard. "What happened? There was a battle, wasn't there?"

"He beat us. And he said he wanted Ruby," informed Emerald, eyes cast towards the ground. "He easily beat every one of our Pokemon- and he wasn't even trying."

"Why did he want Ruby?" piped up Yellow, her brown eyes filled with worry. "What did he do?"

"He said he needs Ruby in order to control two of his Pokemon, because Ruby's controlled them before." Green stiffened, instantly realizing the meaning behind the words. "Which probably means-"

"The two Pokemon he wants controlled are the legendary Pokemon, Groudon and Kyogre," Green finished for him, deep in thought, eyes closed, "which could lead to obvious disaster, and also explains the storm a few days ago and the sudden intense sunlight we had just now."

"He also has Latias and Latios," said Emerald angrily. "He's using them to achieve his goals! Latias and Latios! My friends!"

"If he has that many legendary Pokemon, it could stand to reason that those four aren't the only ones he has, right?" said Silver, steely gaze hard and cold. "For all we know, he could have several others as well, couldn't he?"

"Emerald, do you remember anything about him? Anything at all?" pressed Crystal, regretting her decision to find Gold. If she had stayed behind, perhaps she could have done something. "How he looks? What he was wearing?"

"He was wearing a big cloak that covered his face, and I only got to see his eyes for a little bit. They're gray, kind of like Silver's, but a lot darker," said Emerald, trying to remember any other of the few traits he managed to pick up. "From his voice, he's male, but I couldn't really pick up an age. I know two other of his Pokemon though. Salamence and Gengar."

""If we run into him again, we'll need to have our strongest Pokemon with us for sure, and we can't depend on the Triple Finishes if he possesses so many powerful Pokemon. They'll probably be able to avoid it," speculated Green, thinking about his previous battles with Gengar and what he knew about Salamence, a Polemon that simply didn't live in Kanto. He thought of it as a faster, but slightly less defense-based Dragonite for planning purposes. "For Salamence, we should focus on Ice Beam and Blizzard, and if he uses Groudon, Latias, or Latios as well, those two moves should be able to inflict significant amounts of battle."

"Turtly knows Blizzard," offered Blue, pointing out her Blastoise, which was still out of its Pokeball after the extinguishing of the fire.

"Omasuke knows Ice Beam!" added Yellow, patting the spiky snail-like Pokemon.

"I could teach them to Feraligatr," said Silver, looking back towards the blue reptilian Pokemon. "Except it'd be better for me to teach him Ice Punch, wouldn't it?"

"Salamence isn't our only opponent, and we have to presume this man has counters to Ice-types seeing they're Salamence's major weakness," said Green, mentally calculating what kind of moves the Salamence and its battle partner, Gengar, could possess. "Emerald, what moves did the Pokemon know?"

"Salamence knew Fly, but I'm not sure what else because I was battling Gengar. The Gengar knows Psychic, Sludge Bomb, and Focus Blast as far as I've seen," recalled Emerald. "I don't think Sapphire would know Salamence's attacks because she was trying to care of Ruby."

"Green, we can figure it out as we come to it," said Red, eyes glinting with confidence. "There's no way he'd be able to beat the ten of us at once. And we'll be prepared, not taken by surprise either."

"I suppose so," conceded Green, opening his viridian eyes.

"Right now, we have to go back and help," said Gold, the sound of ambulance and police sirens chiming through the air. "There were probably a lot of people injured in that fire that we didn't see."

"We'll have to go and see Ruby and Sapphire later then," said Blue, climbing onto her Blastoise. "Okay, Turtly! Time to go back!"

Sapphire would be forever eternally grateful that the hospital was far enough from the actual festival to not be caught in the devastating flames. It was like a white beacon calling out to her, unscathed and undamaged, and leaning forward, keeping Ruby balanced in her arms, Charizard started its fast descent, landing with a thus on the ground, lowering its long orange neck so Sapphire could easily jump off its back.

She burst through the doors like a raging Rhyhorn, looking around for someone, as the building was eerily quiet. It was creepy, no footsteps, no chatter, just absolute silence. She tensed, feeling as if something was about to jump her at any moment.

Why would it be so empty in here? she wondered, desperately trying to hear for sounds of other people. There has ta be someone!

The sound of ambulances outside and the crowd of white-clad people she had seen earlier in her flight reminded her of the reason.

Most of the staff must be trying ta help da people injured in da fire! she realized, panicking as she tried to find someone, anyone, but finding no one. This is bad! There's only one option left! I'll have ta make-do with what I have!

She took a big whiff of air, trying to detect even the slightest scent of berries. Even though this is a hospital for people, they should have berries just in case there's a severely injured Pokemon! she thought, taking another sniff. While berries might not be as effective as medicine, it'll do da trick for da time being. I smell berries... Over here!

She raced down an empty hall, kicking open a storage room door to reveal container upon container of every berry she knew and some she didn't. Iapapa, Sitrus, Cheri... She scanned the shelf for the one she needed, setting Ruby down as she climbed upwards, scouting for the berries she needed. Bluk, Razz... Here it is!

Jumping down, she took a handful of the healing berries, squishing them in her hand, and opened Ruby's mouth to put in the sticky pulp, making sure at least some of the juice got down his throat. With her hand placed on his forehead, she waited for a temperature change, and felt relieved as it slowly, but steadily dropped to a much less dangerous level.

Now all he needs is some rest... She lifted him up again, now walking instead of running down the hall to where she knew his room to be, opening the door, relieved and happy that he was now fine.

"I knew you'd come here." Sapphire froze as she looked inside the room, eyes widening in horror as she realized who was standing in the room, a now all too-familiar ghost Pokemon at his side. "I had Gengar remove all the people from this hospital and dump them somewhere less... noticeable. That way, no one would be able to interfere with me."

A cornered Pokemon does one of three things, thought Sapphire wildly. It either attacks, runs, or plays dead. Well I'm gonna attack!

"Go, Toro!" She released her Blaziken as she started running, the fire-type guarding her back as she struggled to make her way back to where Charizard probably still was, where it had to be to give her even a chance of getting away. "Use Blaze Kick!"

She didn't look back to see the ensuing battle, she just kept running and running, wishing Ruby hadn't grown so much in the past five years so he would be easier to carry. She was starting to feel his weight, like lead in her arms, slowing her down and tiring her out.

Toro's shriek of pain forced her to gaze back though, snarling at the man, who now wore a smirk on his face, though it wasn't visible in the shadow if his cloak. Blaziken dropped to the ground, fainted, at Gengar's feet.

"Running will do you no good," said the man, his Gengar smiling maliciously as it prepared an attack. "This is the last chance you get. Hand him over willingly or I'll take him by force."

"Take me!" replied Sapphire, fangs bared in a hiss. "I've controlled powerful Pokemon before as well; you don't need Ruby's help!"

"You've controlled a powerful Pokemon before," he corrected, almost gently, sounding like a critical judge. "I have two Pokemon that need controlling, and another one that I could possibly use him to tame. He was also the last one to hold control over the two, and will stay that way until I can take that power from him. You don't have the power I need. Now be a good, smart girl, Sapphire, and hand him over before it's too late for you."

He released another Pokemon, a sharp-bladed Gallade, having it rest its sword-like arms right next to Sapphire's neck, ready to slice through in the blink of an eye. She eyed it warily, wondering if there was any way out now.

"There is no escape now," said the man, answering her mental question. "And in the impossible chance that you do escape, it'll only take me minutes, perhaps seconds to hunt you down, and Gallade won't bother with threatening you. If you value your life at all, you will give me Ruby. Even if you value him higher, I'll kill you here and take him anyway. Being righteous and noble doesn't get you anywhere. Just be aware you're testing my patience. I don't even know why I'm being so generous."

Sapphire usually prided herself on the ability to make good choices. Perhaps not choices that would technically be considered 'smart', but things she considered 'right', like helping others even if it cost her injury and saving Pokemon no matter what the circumstance. But getting herself killed wouldn't help Ruby and giving him away was unthinkable. There was no right choice. There were no options at all.

***So what's going to happen? Take a guess. :3 XD Sorry for the boring first part... No inspiration whatsoever. What's your opinion on my evil OC? :3 Isn't he awesome (where's strikethrough when you need it?), I mean, evil? Time for review replies!**

**Kimiko Heroux: Glad to know you approve of the way the plot is going. :3 I have plans. Big, evil plans! :D Thanks for the review!**

**FighterGirl14: Sorry, no Sinnoh Trio. They've never really met, so... I didn't feel like trying to imagine how it would work out. Not to mention I'm trying to make it Hoenn myth-centric. Adding in them means I'd probably make this a whole lot more complicated than it has to be. XD Thanks! **

**See you all next week! Bye! :3***


	8. Chapter 8

***I like the beginning of this chapter. :V The rest of not so much. *sigh* I have a speech tomorrow, and I'm so unprepared. The words just won't come out, you know what I mean? DX Oh well... Here's the chapter. I'm a little too depressed to say much else.***

Chapter 8

Sapphire's body seemed to be set in stone, her grimace, her fierce, unwavering gaze, the way her arms were locked protectively around Ruby like a cage of sorts. She showed no outward fear towards the Gallade holding its sharp blades arms at her neck, but inside, she was filled with unspeakable terror, desperate to escape, with no exit in sight. There could be no worse feeling in the world, being helpless, about to have your most important person be torn away, unable to save them, and far beyond the reach of miracles. It was a living nightmare, the worst thing Sapphire felt she had ever been through and that was quite a statement.

Her heart was fluttering fast as a Yanmega's wings, unrelenting as it pumped fire-hot but useless adrenaline throughout her body, filling her with the desire to fight her way out, but her mind knew better. She breathed deep and slow; her only way of staying even remotely calm, the steady, controllable rhythm of her own breathing, which was becoming less controllable by the second. _In, out, in, out..._ The only thing she could depend on right now in this impossible, unpredictable situation.

"It's a hard choice, I know," said the man almost sympathetically, his voice low and soothing as he faced Sapphire, even bending down to meet her glare at eye level, examining her emotions with interest, as if she were some specimen under a microscope. "I was young and in love once too, and I'd have given my life for the girl I loved. Back then, someone else meant more to me than my own self. But now I see sense, and know what a foolish thing that would have been. No one is worth more than yourself; especially not if the worth is based on the senseless thing called love. Love will bring a person down to the point of no repair, drive him, or her, to the point of madness, and destroy them. At the moment, the foolish, ridiculous emotion known as love will kill you if you're not careful." His voice was smooth, but Sapphire could have sworn she heard his voice shake in sorrow. She could hear the sincerity, but also the regret. It didn't matter.

She was filled with silent outrage, wanting to shout at him, how her love for Ruby only made her life better, brought her hope for each and every day, made her smile, laugh, dream. How love always put smiles on people's faces, let laughter into the air, spread joy through the world, bringing it up, not down, not to destruction, but creating a thriving, living, joyful world. But no words would come out, she felt as if she were choking, so she could only seethe and think the words in her head.

The man sighed, staring pitifully at her face, which, unknown to her, was written all over with denial of his words, his blasphemy of love. Her rebellious attitude was starting to make him slightly wary, nervous. People did strange, unpredictable things when they were in love. "Then if you will not listen to me, your fate has been sealed."

Sapphire remained silent, staring him down with anger and fear, knowing that a miracle would not happen now. She could stay quiet no longer as the man raised his hands, words escaping her lips, a faint trembling whisper of, "No, please. Don't do this. Anything but this." She could hardly hear herself, let alone know if he heard.

"Power, not love, is what is important in this life. Age will teach you that lesson, and you will learn it well. Let me make this very simple for you. I'll take mercy on you today. Gengar!" The word 'mercy' gave her hope for a second, made her feel like a balloon, but then she plummeted down as she recognized the vicious look in the Gengar's eyes. It was about to attack. Golden rings burst out of its hands, surrounding her, trapping her.

The ghost Pokemon was suddenly all she could see, the purple, translucent body and the glowing, vivid red of its malicious eyes filling her vision, like everything else had disappeared.

Sapphire closed her eyes, waiting for the finishing blow, not able to face her doom. Instead of pain, her body started to feel tired, making her sway as she fell to her knees, unable to open her eyes even though she now wanted to, the struggle only making her more tired. The strength melted out of her body like ice thrown into a scorching desert.

She felt Ruby's warm, limp body being pried from her arms and she let out a meek cry of protest, but I came out slurred and slow, dulled by sudden exhaustion. _No,_ she thought, falling to the ground, unable to lift herself up.

"Good Hypnosis, Gengar," praised the man, and Sapphire heard the happy, creepy laughter of the ghost Pokemon. "I chose the easiest way for both of us, Sapphire. I find it a waste to destroy young life with as much potential as yours. So you can be assured I won't hurt Ruby more than is necessary. He'll make it out alive, most likely. He's young and strong, like you. Our spar is over. This is good bye for us."

Fighting off the sleep as best she could, she feebly opened her now shadowed blue eyes, struggling to stay awake. "At least tell me who ya are?" she demanded, though her words were marred with the mark of slumber, making them almost incoherent.

"You can call me... Rei." He leaned down, pulling down his hood to reveal his face for the slightest moment, smiling. "The king of a new world."

He couldn't be older than twenty-five, just a few years ahead of Green and Red, and his blond hair was almost white in color, but she could tell it wasn't bleached, and his eyes were a contrasting dark silver. They held depths she couldn't see, couldn't understand. His smirk was filled with arrogance, and she could see that confident snide smile even as she fell asleep.

Sirens still sounded around the ruined festival ground, fire trucks come to ensure that the fire was truly gone, ambulances from nearby cities as well as Lilycove's, and a few police cars investigating the start of the fire. From Emerald's testimony, they had the knowledge that it was no accidental fire, but has no clues towards the culprit. It was as if a spark suddenly ignited and lit the entire place with a scorching blaze.

There was a roar from above, and the loud flapping of wings. The orange dragon was an approaching speck in the sky as it raced back to its owner, who was waiting for it on the ground below with the slightest of smiles on his face.

"Looks like Charizard's back," commented Green, watching his Pokemon flying back with an almost indifferent look on his face, the grin only visible if you peeled off several layers of the ice that was Green. While he had been worried about Ruby and was happy to see Charizard had done its job well, his main concern at the moment was helping his Pokemon release people from under burnt rubble. Soot covered his hands and hair, like dark gray dust, the same soot covering his Pokemon, giving his surroundings a washed-out, grayscale look, his eyes one of the only signs of life. "That was pretty quick- like what, five, six minutes? Now he can get started helping me too. Machamp is good at lifting things, but it's not fast enough alone."

The other Dex holders were scattered in a close area, each helping with something, save Emerald, who was still trying to revive his and Sapphire's fainted Pokemon to no avail. They were all covered with the film of gray that was spread across the city by the wind, making the day's tragedy look even duller.

"I hope the doctor taking care of Ruby was still there," said Yellow, fidgeting worryingly, using her healing powers on burnt Pokemon, stifling a yawn, looking behind her at the crowd of medics and ambulances. The ambulances were taking the severely injured back to the hospital, and medical tents were being set up to take care of those in less injured. "After all, there are a bunch of doctors here and that hospital isn't really all that big. It's the emergency hospital after all, and most of those employees are here."

"He has a fever and simply needs some medicine and rest," assured Crystal, helping pitch a medical tent with her Pokemon, accepting a grateful 'Thank You' from a doctor with a smile. "Any doctor or nurse could manage that. I could handle it if you gave me some fever medicine and a bed to put him in. I'm only worried it'll cause him more trauma."

"Do you think the Pokemon Center is still open?" asked Emerald, looking at his wounded Pokemon, and Sapphire's, which were barely conscious in the Pokeballs Emerald placed them in temporarily. In her haste, Sapphire hadn't returned most of her Pokemon, and he was forced to dig Pokeballs out of his bag to contain them. "These guys are hurt real bad, and the potions and revives aren't doing much help. Yellow can't heal injuries this bad either."

Yellow had already taken a look at the ugly gashes ripped across Sceptile's back, caused by Salamence's powerful, vicious Fly, the terrible scratches the same dragon Pokemon has inflicted on Sapphire's Rono; the Salamence's claws had pierced through even Aggron's tough steel armor and rocky scales, not to mention the drop from the sky which had damaged Rono's insides as well, just barely missing killing the Pokemon. Emerald shuddered as he remembered the man saying, "Pity it's raining... I would have used Fire Blast to burn your Sceptile to a crisp otherwise..."

This damage was getting out of the battle lucky. His Pokemon could easily have been killed in such a dangerous battle, but instead, they were now incapable of moving, wounded almost to the point of death, and he wasn't even sure if they'd survive a run to the Pokemon Center.

"Most likely, but I think you should see if there's a makeshift one here," suggested Red, looking around for red and white Pokeball mark that would signify a Pokecenter. He was quietly reeling from seeing how badly Emerald's Pokemon were injured. The young boy had actually managed to beat him in battle once (Red was caught slightly off-guard) and if an opponent could beat Emerald this easily, he'd pose a daunting, perhaps unbeatable challenge for Red himself. And that was unthinkable. But it could be true.

There was a roar, and a rumbling of stomps as Charizard landed hard on the ground with a extremely loud thud, drawing eyes to it from all around the festival. Seemingly on a mini rampage, it grabbed its trainer and tried to speak, only impossible to understand growls coming out.

"Charizard, what's wrong?" Green exclaimed, voice loud and surprised as the Pokemon frantically started to tug him away, flapping its powerful wings and starting to lift its trainer into the air. "Cut it out!"

"Wait, Green, let me talk to him," said Yellow, stepping in and laying her hand on the orange lizard's snout. Closing her light brown eyes, she slowly delved into Charizard's mind, taking in what it had seen and heard, eyes flashing open in panic, her body trembling as she watched the scenes Charizard had watched, the utter horror of it. "No..." she whispered, oblivious to what was around her, Red's hand on her shoulder, trying to call her back. "No... It can't be!"

"Yellow, what happened to Charizard?" asked Red, voice steady and demanding, but betraying fear. "Yellow!" He grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently, trying to revive her from the shock.

"Charizard saw a man knock out Sapphire and take Ruby. He had a Gengar and a Gallade, and he was wearing a dark gray cloak with the hood down but Charizard couldn't see his face well." Yellow stopped, looking towards her friends, her grimace full of horror but also filled with determination and resolve. "We need to get the hospital, now! We have to save them!"

"We're splitting into teams of two," said Green, quickly taking command, all the Dex owners already present and alert. "One goes to help Sapphire and the other goes and tries to find Ruby. Crystal, you have your Arcanine, right?" The blue-haired girl nodded, releasing the dog-like fire-type she had recently started training, its sensitive nose already sniffing Ruby's dropped Pokedex, which was held in Crystal's hand. "Go and find Ruby. Take Gold, Silver, and Blue with you. Red, Yellow, and I will go to the hospital. Emerald, you have to stay and get your and Sapphire's Pokemon healed. No buts, you'd be useless in a fight right now. Once they're taken care of, see if you can track down Crystal." Emerald opened his mouth to protest, but Green didn't even give him a second to start arguing, placing his hand onto his Pokemon's neck. "Go, now! Charizard! As fast as you possibly can!"

Green hopped on, pulling Yellow up with him, placing her behind him, as Red grabbed onto Aero feet, making his grip was tight and secure. The two flying-types flew with equal speed, their two 'pilots' completely absorbed in thoughts of their destination and the potential danger.

If the man was still there with Ruby, in the hospital, would that mean they'd have to battle in such a confined space? It'd be hard to counter the special attacker Gengar, thought Green, and the close-range battler Gallade without suffering the same fate as Emerald. Red was thinking about the same things, but he was trying to turn the confined area into his advantage. Any Pokemon would have limited movement, but Pika was small and fast enough to be unaffected by the unadvategeous choice in arena. Though even Pika couldn't fight two extremely powerful enemies at once.

Green was torn between hoping the man wasn't there, saving his Pokemon from devastating injury while at the same time raring to exact revenge for the attacks and now kidnapping of his juniors, to give the mystery man what he deserved.

There was no sign of anything when they landed a few meters from the hospital entrance, no sound of Pokemon, no ambush, and no one in sight. The three Kanto Dex holders were cautious as they dismounted their Pokemon, taking care to make sure they weren't surprise attacked, in sync as they covered each other's backs even though they said nothing.

Green released all of his Pokemon, Red and Yellow doing so also, so in the case of a battle, it would be eighteen Pokemon vs. at max, two or three. He took caution in approaching the door, using his Golduck's Confusion to try and detect any traps. After all, Gengar had the ability to render itself invisible. Golduck sensed nothing after a moment, and Green barged through the doors, Red right beside him, looking around for a blue-clothed girl, finding her a few meters down a nearby hall close to the entrance, lying on her stomach, eyes closed, on the floor.

"Sapphire!" said Yellow, speeding past Green as she ran up to her collapsed kohai, eyes a panicked blur of browns and golds. The brown-haired girl didn't respond. "Sapphire, wake up!"

***Review Replies!**

**FighterGirl14: Ah... thoughts... I usually try and go for italics, but since this is all written on an iTouch, that's impossible. :/ Once I send it to my computer, I usually forget or am a little too tired to do it. I tried to put it in this time though. :3 You got Rei's name and looks in this chapter- soon, you'll hear a bit of his backstory. As far as 'true identity', he's an OC, but I guess you could call his past a true identity. XD Thanks for the review!**

**soraroxas365: Yup. :3 I always make the characters suffer, I don't really know why. XD Maybe because I suck at fluff. Thanks for the review!**

**Gur40goku: Sapphire took Ruby back to see if she could get him treatment. I don't know if you can really say they 'saved' Sapphire since Rei had left by that point, but I guess that was somewhat close. XD If you're talking about Rei, he just really needs Ruby for some mysterious, currently unknown reason. :3 See if you can figure it out! XD**

**Please review! They really cheer me up and motivate me to write. It doesn't even have to be a full sentence. I just need some motivation, that's all. Thanks for your time! Check back next week!***


	9. Chapter 9

***Guess what? :D I got a beta! PokemonDaniel123 from deviantArt. :3 Go check out her art! ;) She has a cool SpecialShipping doushinji that she's working on... Oh, I drew a Franticshipping drawing. If you're interested, I'm iluvshadowclaw on dA. It's called 'Wild Beauty.'***

Chapter 9

Hypnosis-induced dreams usually weren't so bad. In fact, they weren't much worse or better than normal dreams, and Sapphire's current dream was fairly pleasant.

Her dream took place at a not burnt, undamaged festival ground, where she was laughing and enjoying a nice big bag of bright blue cotton candy, hand in hand with Ruby as they explored the celebration. Sampling different dishes from around Hoenn, like the famous Lavaridge cookies or the luxurious (and expensive) seafood from Lilycove, previewing the Contest Hall, which suited Ruby's taste entirely ("Beautiful!"), and the Battle Arena, which Sapphire approved of ("My Pokemon can definitely win with that much space!"), nothing was out of place. It could only be described as joyous and perfect, the picturesque way of how their trip to Lilycove was supposed to go.

And then, she felt his hand suddenly ripped from hers, and as she tried to pull him back, her fingers closed on emptiness. Looking up, she saw Ruby, unconscious, his expression frightened, being lifted into the air by a Gengar's Psychic, and instantly, her heart filled with dread. The Gengar stood on the back of a mighty Salamence, piloted by none other than... Rei.

He had a calm, almost kind smile on his face, but she could sense the contempt and his silent gloating at having rendered her completely helpless while her most important person was being snatched away before her very eyes. The sun shone brightly on his hair, turning the pale silvery-blond a soft gold, ringing his head like an angel's halo, but Sapphire knew better. The young man's handsomely-cut features and grins were the work of the devil, sent from hell, most definitely not from the gates of heaven.

She reached for the Pokemon at her belt to realize some were missing, and the others all fainted, unable to battle. At the same moment where she looked around desperately for something, anything that could help her predicament, the world around her burst into flames, making her the center of a blossoming, fiery orange flower, the heat blurring the image of the flying Salamence, now leaving the scene, taking Ruby with it.

_No,_ she thought, feeling the heat beat around her like ferocious, scalding winds, the smoke clogging her lungs, keeping her from screaming her despair. Coughing, she fell to her knees, closing her eyes, unable to bear the stinging smoke that was hurting her eyes to no end, struggling to breathe. _Why did this have ta happen?_

_"Sapphire,"_ called a voice, coming from the sky. It rang loud and clear, summoning her, starting to banish the nightmare around her. _"Sapphire... Wake up!"_

"Hmm?" Sapphire blinked, trying to focus on the people in front of her, blobs of pale skin and gray soot-covered clothes. The lights above her swirled in circles, bright white spots that hurt her eyes, and all she wanted to do was close her eyes again, but she couldn't, because she was afraid of the terrible, heartbreaking scenes that replayed relentlessly behind her closed lids.

She knew what she hoped for was impossible, the chances of that faint wish long vanished, that the question would be pointless, only crush her further. But to even have something to hope for, to cling to that one last chance, was essential, because she had never felt more helpless.

"Sapphire…" said a girl's voice, and Sapphire's azure eyes caught the sight of blonde hair and worried brown orbs staring at her with an overly concerned frown. "Are you okay? We… were afraid you'd never wake up. It's been almost two days since we found you unconscious in the hospital."

"Ru-Ru-" hacked Sapphire, suddenly aware of the aching dryness in her throat, the burning thirst that suddenly racked her body. She coughed, and tried to summon moisture into her mouth, but it was as dry as a desert. She heard a glass plop down on a small table beside her, and saw Emerald withdraw his hand. Water had never looked so enticing.

Yellow could easily guess what Sapphire wanted to know, just from the first syllable. What else would she want anyways? She wished she had a better answer to give, that the still ongoing search was bringing success, that Crystal had managed to track down the scent of the Salamence. But the one thing Yellow refused to do was lie.

"We can't find him. Him or that… man." Yellow hung her head in depression, watching Sapphire lay her arm over her face, seeing small rivulets of tears start to fall gently down to the cotton sheets of the bed. "I'm so sorry. Everyone else is still out searching for Ruby. It's only Emerald and I here."

"I know his name now," said Sapphire quietly, thirst quenched by the cool water she'd poured down her throat, words barely audible. "And I saw his face. He said ta call him Rei." She remembered his smile, the cruel flicker in his eyes, and the malice behind his benign words. "And that he will be da king of a new world."

Yellow and Emerald said something in a low voices that Sapphire couldn't really make out, too tired pay attention. Yellow scribbled something down on a piece of paper, and handed it to her Pikachu, Chuchu, and the electric mouse scrambled out of the room in a hurry. "Green left his Pidgeot here to deliver messages. I'm having Chuchu give the name to Pidgeot," she explained, looking at Sapphire's curiosity. "They're looking all over Hoenn for Ruby, but there's a lot of ground to cover."

_And we can't even be sure Ruby's still in Hoenn…_ finished Sapphire silently. Her impression of Rei was that he wasn't the kind of person who could be found unless he wanted to be found. And even if he was… Flashbacks of her brief battle with him rose to the surface of her mind, the sheer power of his Pokemon, the ease in which they defeated her Pokemon, without batting an eye, swatting her aside like an annoying bug Pokemon. Even Red, the strongest among them, would have an extremely difficult time facing Rei.

But what she feared most of all was what Rei could be doing to Ruby. What could Ruby possibly do to help him control Groudon and Kyogre? The last time, five years ago, he had stopped the two legendary Pokemon with the Blue and Red Orb, and his father piloting Rayquaza behind him, but if Rei wanted to have him try and pull off that kind of stunt without any protection… Ruby would be dead in a heartbeat.

"_I won't hurt him any more than what is necessary…" _What counted as necessary? The very thought chilled her to the bone and made her wish even more, made her wish so much that this was just a nightmare, not reality. A dream, not the life she had to live.

_Ruby… Just be okay,_ thought Sapphire, closing her eyes and feeling more tears spill, Emerald and Yellow looking at her with sympathy. _If nothing else, just be okay…._

Ruby was aware of wind whipping his hair and clothes, beating him awake as he groggily sat up, looking at the giant blue sky surrounding him. He blinked a couple times, trying to figure out if he was still dreaming, before he saw the head of the Salamence in front of him. He backed away quickly in shock, his hand slipping and his feet finding nothing to hold on to as he fell-

"That was a close one there," commented Rei conversationally, standing next to his Gengar, which easily saved Ruby from what would have been a very unpleasant death. "Fear not, my friend. Salamence won't hurt you."

"Who are you?" asked Ruby warily, looking at with scrutiny. "Where's Sapphire?"

"Oh, her?" asked Rei, raising an eyebrow. With his cloak off, and standing in the bright sunlight, he looked the same age as Red or Green, shadows no longer darkening his pale face. "She got left behind at Lilycove. I didn't need her for this."

"What did you do to her?" demanded Ruby, sensing the danger before him, like prey before a predator.

"Don't worry, I didn't harm _her_," replied Rei, pausing on the 'her.' "Though, due to the circumstances, I did have to take out quite a couple of her Pokemon. She's either still sleeping or just woke up. Nothing permanent."

Ruby looked again at the Gengar, the Salamence, and from his blurry memory, recalled the white-edged feverish images of a Pokemon battle, the Salamence and the Gengar completely dominating the flow of the fight, and the black-hooded man just watching as his Pokemon quickly obliterated their opponents… "It was you, wasn't it? Who was fighting Sapphire?" he asked viciously, feeling strangely protective of Sapphire, the girl who had been protecting him.

Rei looked at him in surprise, and then laughed, not unpleasant, but not happy either. "I thought you were too caught up in your little fever to notice me come in," answered Rei, amused, as if Ruby were a funny program on TV. "Looks like you're sharper than I gave you credit for… I sincerely hope you'll survive the ritual. It'd be a shame to kill someone with such potential as yours."

"_I sincerely hope you'll survive…_" Ruby felt chills through his bones, scared of this strange man, with a burning desire that was a cross between the need to escape, intense curiosity, and the weirdest… a twisted admiration.

"Don't worry- you'll probably live through it. It's nothing too bad really- I just need to create another Red and Blue Orb so I can control the two legendary Pokemon. I'm pretty sure you remember controlling Groudon and Kyogre, right? What would you say to meeting them again?" teased Rei, his voice reminding Ruby of a snicker.

"Groudon… Kyogre…" murmured Ruby, trying to summon the two Pokemon from his memory, and to his surprise, he was able to conjure two colored blobs, which was better than nothing. One was a blood-red crimson, with inky streaks of black painted across its back. The other was blue, with white and a trace of red, with two wings. "Legendary Pokemon?"

Rei looked at him as if he were starting to regret saying Ruby had great potential. "Good god, are you dense? The kings of the earth and sea, who warred five years ago, who _you_ controlled and stopped?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," retorted Ruby, wondering if that was the right thing to say. His instinct told him revealing his weakness, that he couldn't remember anything, that he hardly even knew who he was, would be much more danger than it was worth. "But if you try to hurt me, I'll use my Poke-"

"Your Pokemon? These pathetic things?" Rei held out four Pokeballs, containing Nana, Coco, Popo, and Ruru. "This Kirlia isn't even evolved. Even if I did let you have these Pokemon back, Gengar alone could take them all of."

Ruby gritted his teeth, knowing his last available defense had been stripped from him. He felt a bit of guilt that he felt only the tiniest bit of worry for the Pokemon in his enemy's hands, seeing they _were_ his Pokemon, but he hardly felt a bond with them. Nana, the only one he'd used in his fight with Emerald, he felt slightly attached to, but it didn't go much further than happiness that he'd won a battle with that particular Pokemon. It could have been any Pokemon for all he cared at the moment. But without them, he was completely vulnerable.

"How about we try and see?" snarled Ruby, a challenging look in his bright crimson eyes. "If you're so confident, it shouldn't be too hard, should it?"

"While we're almost a mile up in the air?" replied Rei, looking even more amused than before, as if Ruby were a little child making ludicrous suggestions. "Your poor little weaklings might fall off my Salamence's back, and perhaps Gengar won't be in the mood to save them. If you really want to suffer defeat though, if you'll wait fifteen minutes or so, we'll land at my island."

"_Your_ island?" repeated Ruby dubiously, starting to wonder if this man was some sort of mentally disturbed millionaire. "How the heck did you get an island?"

"My Pokemon created it of course." Rei snapped one of several Ultra Balls off of his belt, and Ruby found himself staring into the face of the very red blob he'd been envisioning moments before.

_So this is the Pokemon he's talking about… It looks so powerful, even though it's so small in the Pokeball,_ thought Ruby, shivering at the coldness in its intense golden stare, feeling the strength simply emanating from its very presence. _But I still don't remember anything about it. Did I really control this Pokemon before?_

The Groudon roared, and though it couldn't be heard through the Pokeball, Ruby shivered as Rei looked on with a smirk. "I knew you'd recognize it. There's no point in playing dumb with me, you know. There's no way someone would forget something so life-changing." Ignoring Ruby's silence, Rei continued, as if Ruby weren't even there. "Nifty Pokemon this is. Immensely powerful, capable of creating land, and bringing drought by simply coming out of its Pokeball- but imagine if I had full control of it in battle, to command it as its _master_. It refuses to do anymore than defend itself or listen only when I threaten it with all my other Pokemon, but with you, Groudon and Kyogre will bow to my commands without question."

Ruby remembered the burning sun that had beat down on him, that had caused the fairground to erupt in flames and make it spread uncontrollably, the very air feeling as if it were on fire. The way all the clouds had suddenly disappeared, _evaporated_, he realized, leaving them with no shade at all to hide from the heat. The heat had even weakened even the most powerful water-type moves to the point where they had diminished to nothing more than weak little droplets, hardly enough to take on a fire of such great size.

"I can see by your eyes you've figured out that the fire was completely my doing, even though you probably can't remember the conversation I had with your friends because of your sudden fever. I only had to release Groudon a little ways outside of Lilycove, and the instant someone used fire, even the lighting of a cigarette, it'd erupt into flames. Shame this Castform had to use Rain Dance and well, _dampen_, my plans," said Rei almost jokingly, as if killing people and setting fire to a whole city was just a casual, everyday activity. "But no matter. It was better for me to battle in the rain than the sun, even though the fact that a nice Fire Blast would have taught that insolent blond boy a lesson."

Ruby still didn't speak a word, but inside, his mind was screaming that he had to flee, despite the fact that he was trapped in the sky.

"Why so quiet, boy?" inquired Rei suddenly, bending down so he could peer at Ruby eye-to-eye. It was all Ruby could do not to jump back at the chill in those swirling grey eyes. "I'm not going to kill you unless you go out of your way to disobey me- and I can't kill you until you've fulfilled you purpose anyways. And besides- I like to hear the fear of others."

Holding his tongue, Ruby stared in defiance, partly because he didn't want to give this man what he wanted, and partly because he had no idea what _to _say. The man was already having a conversation with himself, and there wasn't much Ruby could do about that.

"How boring," sighed Rei, turning to the dark purple ghost Pokemon beside him with a slight grin on his face. "Gengar, how about you loosen up his tongue for me? I want to hear what he's thinking. Don't worry, it won't hurt," he told Ruby, "at least, not physically."

Instantly, Ruby tried to close off his mind, though it just filled his mind with more terror as he felt something like a sharp claw dig into his head, prying open his mind and spilling out all of what he knew- which was quite little. His strange protectiveness of Sapphire, which felt embedded in him, instinctual almost, the way he could battle, despite the fact everyone around him said he _hated_ battling, and the one and only thing he had been trying to hide from the man, _he couldn't remember a thing at all_.

"How… interesting," said Rei, a very wide smirk on his face, eyes closed, calmly absorbing all the information streaming coursing through his Gengar. "When I had Kyogre make that storm to test its abilities, I would have never guessed you'd be caught up in it. And without your memory, this'll make it everything a lot more entertaining. Does it hurt?" The Gengar's palms opened wider, its smirk growing bigger, looking exactly like its master.

Suddenly the pain doubled, and in the back of his mind, Ruby remembered his concussion, which so conveniently decided to start hurting him at the same moment Rei decided to push his attack further. He bit his lip and drew blood, the rusty tang coating his tongue, but he simply did not want to give this man the pleasure of hearing him cry out his pain. He couldn't scream, despite the fact he wanted to.

"Calling me 'this man' is so repetitive," commented Rei, still listening in on all of Ruby's thoughts with a smile. "Call me Rei, a name that will bring fear and respect throughout the entire world in a matter of weeks, with your help." His eyes gleamed sharply, like a cat's, and Ruby grimaced.

"Th-there's no way I'd help you," stuttered Ruby, gritting his teeth and hissing out his words. He opened his mouth to say more, but there was another stab, like a knife thrust, and he just barely missed biting down on his tongue as the agony continued.

"It won't be very hard to convince you. Gengar's been practicing- if you'd retained your lifetime's worth of memory, it'd be impossible. But with only a few days- it should take barely a minute for Gengar to wipe your mind clear again. You'll be a clean slate, a nice, untouched surface for me to write all over." There was a flash in his eyes, a hungry eagerness to test out his brand-new technique. "Gengar… do it."

Ruby opened his mouth in a protest, and attempted to scramble away, despite the painful ringing in his head and the fact that there was nowhere _to_ scramble away, but his limbs were lead, and he felt white wash over him like a wave, and the crimson eyes of Gengar flooded his vision. Everything he had seen, felt, and heard in the past four days was fading away, even his name, which floated away last, like a balloon becoming lost in the sky.

Rei stared at his still form, still smiling, elated with what the future would hold. He was a master of manipulation, if he put his mind to it. And with nothing to hold onto, the once-again helpless Ruby would have to turn to him, and he would be entirely under Rei's control, almost like a Pokemon.

_Soon, _thought Rei, his island coming into sight. _Soon, I'll have control over the entire world…_

***Review Reply Time! :D**

**lolatron5000: Sorry... TT-TT I like the Sinnoh Trio too, but, if I brought them in, I would have brought in a whole crap load of complicated stuff about time and space and I have too much to focus on with all of Hoenn's natural disasters. ): Because if I involved Sinnoh... I'm pretty sure Rei would like to get his hands on Palkia and Dialga as well... And I'd like to focus more on Ruby and Sapphire and Hoenn anyways. I'm sorry that I haven't read your story yet. :/ I had midterms this week, a volleyball tournament yesterday, and a huge desire to draw fanart... I'll do it now. :3**

**ruby-loverr: Unfortunately, your prediction has yet to come true. XD Thanks for the encouragement! :3 It really cheered me up. Thanks for the review!**

**As usual, please review, and see you all next week! ;)***


	10. Chapter 10

***Hello all. :3 How's it going? XD I'm still on Spring Break (which ends tomorrow. TT-TT) so it means I'm drawing like crazy. :3 Check me out on dA! I'm iluvshadowclaw. ;) Now onto the chapter!***

Chapter 10

"Rei..." murmured Blue, settling down at her computer at a library table, far away from all the other patrons, Silver taking out his laptop as well. As the two were the best at finding information and hacking and such, Green had told them to stop their search and start hunting online for information on their enemy. "Have you ever heard of the name before? I don't remember hearing it before… It sounds like it has some hidden meaning though, doesn't it?"

"Sort of," replied Silver, shrugging, tapping his fingers restlessly across the wood of the table as he impatiently waited for the computer to load. It usually didn't feel so slow, but with such a threat to the Pokedex holders, his self-proclaimed family, a threat that had already snatched up one of its beloved (but slightly annoying- before the memory loss) members. "I'll start searching through archives of different champions. I mean, if he's strong enough to beat Emerald and Sapphire at the same time, there's a chance he's challenged the League and won before."

"If he's as powerful as Emerald says, and what I can infer from what he's done to Lilycove, there has to be some record of him. A trainer with that much strength can't stay hidden his entire life." Blue's fingers flew across the keyboard, the small tapping noises like the drum of rain on the forest floor, her eyes scanning information like lightning, almost as efficiently as a computer itself. "We need to look for pictures, because chances are he's not using his real name."

"Not finding anything on a person named Rei?" asked Silver, a hint of a taunt in his voice, sounding a bit arrogant, though he was obviously teasing. "Here's a little something interesting. There's an article on the fifteen-year old who won the league about six years ago and a picture. It says the Pokemon he used were Salamence, Gengar, and Gallade. Aren't those the Pokemon Sapphire saw him use?" Silver turned his computer to face Blue, and she frowned at the screen.

"While that is a good clue, different people can own the same Pokemon, and Sapphire hasn't given us a physical description yet. And how are you sure it's this guy? 'Rei' isn't on the paper once," noted Blue, returning to her own research. "More concrete evidence would be what we need, Silver, though this is pretty good too. Make sure you keep that page up, or at least bookmark it." She took another look at her list of champions. "I don't see the name Rei on this anywhere."

"Wait, six years ago?" Silver took another good look at the article he had found. Originally, he'd only bothered to find a clue, and he hadn't scanned the seemingly irrelevant parts of the story, such as the tournament information. "Isn't that the year-"

"That there was an accident and the competition was called off?" Blue finished for him, eyes darkening. "I remember now, it was all over the news, but they kept the names off of the story, because the accident was caused by a minor. In the finals, one of the competitors managed to set the entire arena on fire. Several people were severely injured and some were killed, and his opponent and her Pokemon died in the blaze because they couldn't get out on time. He survived because he had his Pokemon fly above the arena."

The ghastly scene from the TV a few years back replayed in her head- the flames that had jumped so high, so viciously, so much like the incident a few days ago at Lilycove. The way you could still hear screams, carried on the wind, the faint shadow of a Pokemon flying above the arena… She quickly searched up the video, cringing as the footage played, and pausing at the moment where she saw the blue and red dragon far in the background, a hundred feet above the arena, and someone clutching desperately to its neck.

_Now if only this video had higher resolution…_ she thought, annoyed at how when she tried to zoom in, the entire thing transformed into a blob of multi-colored pixels, and were impossible to decipher an image from. _At least we have the picture. I'm going to print it out and send it back with Pidgeot…_

"Send that photo back to Sapphire?" asked Silver, looking at the photograph of the blond teen. The boy in the picture was smiling slyly and confidently, and his eyes twinkled, saying _"Bring it on"_, looking ready for any challenge. "Good idea. Is Green's Pidgeot still outside though? I thought it left."

"No, I had it stay," assured Blue, getting out of her chair. "It's in the nearby forest, so it looked like it left to go back to Yellow and Emerald. I'll be back in a minute, Silver."

Silver nodded, and scanned his article again, managing to find what he was looking for in a clip of the beginning of his League challenge. _So this guy's name is Jade… Let's see what that finds me…_

After a few clicks and websites, he found the name on a 'Missing' list, showing that the teen had mysteriously disappeared around five years ago from his hometown in Fallabor, only a few months after the tragic incident in his League challenge. _Jade is an orphan who was raised along with a few others in the local orphanage. He was top of his class in elementary school, and especially excelled in Pokemon battling,_ Silver read, wondering if there would actually be any big hints, though he doubted it. They'd probably have to go to Fallabor and ask around if they wanted more info. _And that's what we're going to do! There has to be more information if we go there!_

There were a few footsteps behind him, and Silver turned around to see the brown-haired girl heading back towards him. She smiled, and he returned it with the smallest hint of a grin. "Silver, found anything?" asked Blue, laying her hand on his shoulder, her touch like an electric shock.

_I wonder if she thinks of me as anything more than a brother_… he thought, his eyes only slightly betraying his inner emotions. _I wonder if she feels for me like I do for her…_

"Let's try going to Fallabor Town," he said, closing his laptop lid and stuffing the computer in his bag, shaking away his previous thoughts. He couldn't be distracted by that now, not when he had something so important to do. "I think we'll get a good lead there."

When the boy woke up, he saw bright lights from above and from the side, and noticed that he was lying on a soft bed, covered by a thin blanket, which was just enough to keep him warm. Taking a deep yawn, and unconsciously stretching, he sat up and took a look around the room with curious crimson eyes- it was just about empty, except for the bed and a mirror on the other side of the room. A window and a light hanging from the ceiling proved to be the sources of the bright light rays that stung his sleepy eyes, and he had to blink several times before he could really open them.

The room felt almost like a cave, barring the window and the fact that there seemed to be no exit or entrance, stone and dirt walls surrounding him. It wasn't dark or cold or damp or common traits associated with caves, but it kind of felt like it nonetheless. An artificial cave, carved into giant stone formation, he guessed, noticing the light above looked like it was powered by electricity.

_Where is this?_ he thought, stepping off the bed onto the hard, cold stone floor, shivering as the chill made its way up his body, but somewhat happy that the cold made him feel more awake, more focused. _Why am I here?_

As he walked around, not wanting to stay still, he passed the mirror, looking into the reflective glass with interest- flashing back at him were black hair, sharp red eyes, though they were strangely vacant, as if something had disappeared from them, and two long, ugly scars across his forehead, and he self-consciously reached up to touch the marred skin, as if to confirm that they were really there and not some illusion formed by his sleepy mind.

There was something that felt like it was on the tip of his tongue, the edge of his mind, that something crucially vital to his being was missing, but he couldn't place a name to it. It was like being suspended in emptiness, with no place to go, no desire, no panic. Just… empty space. And that was what he felt like.

Suddenly, a pair of red eyes appeared in front of him, and he tried to scream in surprise and fear, but his long silence reduced his fear to only a quiet squeal, and he felt slightly embarrassed, afraid, and yet mesmerized by the strange sight in front of him. A purple body slowly materialized around it, all sharp angles and malice, and the Pokemon's translucent, ghostly fingers grabbed his hand, and he felt a deathly chill go through his body, like a freezing jolt of electricity.

"Let me go!" he cried hoarsely, trying to loosen its surprisingly tight grip. Despite the fact it couldn't even wrap its hand around his wrist, he couldn't break free, despite being much bigger and most likely physically stronger, being a teenage male. So out of desperateness, he kicked it, seeing his foot go through the ghost Pokemon with another shiver.

There was a flash of bright white light then he was out on a beach, his feet sinking into warm, welcoming ivory sand, the steady rumbling and crashing of waves in gentle chorus with the Wingulls and Pelippers circling the sky, cawing as they lazily flapped their blue-striped wings. For a second, he almost forgot about the purple Pokemon until he realized the cold had left his hand, and saw the ghost walking towards a black-clothed man.

"I'm glad to see you're awake," said the man, offering a wide grin, his silver eyes shining. His deceit was impossible to detect. "Did you have a good rest?"

"Good enough," the boy mumbled, looking away, towards the sky, not really sure how to reply to this man's welcome cheerfulness. How could he, when the person was a stranger? "Who are you?"

Reid's eyes stretched wide in mock disbelief, and his smile turned into a frown. "You don't know who I am?" asked Rei, sounding incredulous. "Ruby, how could you forget? I'm your partner, Rei."

"Partner?" Ruby repeated, taking his time with the word, infusing it with confusion and hesitation. "Partner for what?"

"Saving the world of course," said Rei, suddenly taking on a very serious tone. "The world is corrupt and broken, and needs a firm hand to keep it in order. I can be the king and make this world a utopia, and you're helping me as my equal. You must have lost your memory when you hit your head. That's unfortunate."

Ruby thought the idea of a king sounded kind of farfetched. Why would a whole world need to be ruled by one person? Looking around, the world seemed right enough- but of course, there was no one else around, so he couldn't really judge.

"And what's wrong with the world?" asked Ruby, curious for the answer, his previously vapid red eyes now beginning to brighten with a past light. "And why am I helping you?"

"You've always been one for questions," chuckled Rei, and for a second, Ruby detected a dark, malicious twinkle in his swirling gray eyes, but it was gone so quickly that he brushed it off as imagination. "Nothing is ever in balance. There is always fighting, perhaps not wars, but people trying to disrupt nature and the flow of the world. People have tried to harness the power of the sea and the earth, and even of time and space."

"My goal, our goal I mean," Rei corrected quickly, excitement building as he freely voiced his dreams. "Is to procure all the Pokemon that such people desire to possess and control, to have them as our subjects, protected by us and be used only for the greater good. Together, we have already obtained all such Pokemon in Hoenn."

In all truth... What Rei was saying actually sounded... great. To obtain the Pokemon used to wreak disaster and place them in the care of one responsible person, a person who could protect them and use them only when necessary. Rei's aura seemed good enough, and Ruby felt like he would be able to trust him.

"What do I need to do? What did I do?" he inquired, correcting himself. He didn't want to sound so… willing without having any prior knowledge.

As if reading Ruby's mind, Rei said, "Don't be so quick to trust anybody, especially since your memory seems to have disappeared. Since you're my partner, our enemies will target you, especially if they know your weakness. You can trust me- but keep in mind, trust cannot be a gift given easily- if at all."His silver eyes flared, like bursts of gray-tinted light. "Because trust builds bonds, bonds that are not easily severed. Bonds that are hurt will break."

_Is he still talking to me?_ wondered Ruby, suddenly seeing grief on his 'partner's' face, realizing the man was thinking of something entirely different. _I wonder what happened to him…_ _It probably wouldn't do very good to ask though._

"First things first. If you want to be a help to me, you'll have to train your Pokemon up on this island. I took them in for the night to examine them- they're quite decent, seeing that you don't like battling." Rei fished out several Pokeballs, and tossed them one by one to Ruby, who caught them easily, without dropping or missing a single one. "There are plenty of wild Pokemon gathered in the center of the island- powerful Pokemon that I've chosen from around the world to make this location a prime training spot. You will battle me when you think you're ready. Mind you- the chances of you winning against me in your lifetime are very, very, very low."

"Well that's encouraging," said Ruby sarcastically, putting all of the Pokeballs but one into his pocket. "Then what is the point in battling you if there is no way I'll win?"

"To give me a challenge. If you can do even that, you are far above any of the opponents we shall face. Together, we will be unstoppable. So get out of here and go train before I force you out." Rei pushed Ruby fiercely, and Ruby stumbled a few feet before regaining his balance, letting out a small yelp of surprise. "We don't have very long. At least- I'd like to make this as quick as possible. Come back tonight. There's a certain… ceremony that requires your presence."

"What cere-" But Rei and the Gengar were already gone, leaving nothing but faint footprints in the soft white sand.

***What ceremony? :3 Anyone wanna take a guess? Okay, review replie- I mean, review _reply_. *cough***

**FighterGirl14: I like Rei too. I laughed so hard when I read your review- because that's exactly how _I _think. I love it when you have a hot, intriguing, smart villain, and I love it when the main character is tortured. ^^' XD Thanks for the review. **

**Let's raise the review count so I can actually have review replies! (instead of the singular 'reply') See you all next week! Thanks for reading! :D***


	11. Chapter 11

***Hello all. :3 Please do not get mad at me for forgetting to update last week. I had a volleyball tournament that day (which we lost miserably) and a 3 day competition the next day... Well, anyways, here's Chapter 11! ^^***

Chapter 11

"Here's the place, Fallabor Orphanage." Silver looked up from his map of Hoenn to the small, somewhat run-down building in front of him. It reminded him of what Crystal had told him about the old orphanage she had volunteered at- broken floorboards, dirty conditions, and overall, not the greatest place to grow up.

_But I guess it's better than how I grew up…_ thought Silver, sighing. _Most of the time, there's someone in an orphanage who cares about you, who acts as your parent. A sister can't even take the place of a mother or father…_

"By the looks of it, it seems nobody has lived here for a while," commented Blue, casting a wary eye on the swaying sign displaying 'Fallabor Orphanage' above her, which seemed to be hanging on by just a single nail. "It just looks like a rat hole."

Silver was about to grunt his agreement when an old man stepped out of the building, alone and holding nothing, staring at the two Dex Holders curiously.

"What would you two youngsters be doing here? The orphanage has been closed for years- nothing interesting for kids of your age," he said, a kind smile on his face.

"We came here for information on a kid named Jade. Would you happen to have known him?" Blue took out her photo of Jade, but the man didn't even need to look at the white-blond hair and the silvery eyes to know who she was talking about.

"I knew him. I was the head of this orphanage, and I raised him up from maybe when he was seven or eight, I'm not too sure. He was an ambitious one, he and his friend, Amethyst. They both wanted to challenge the league, and they did. Unfortunately, Amethyst never came out of that tournament." His voice lowered, and his eyes were shadowed with pain. It was obvious that he had cared about both of the duo greatly. "She was an orphan as well, and she and Jade were always together, talking about who knows what and training the Pokemon they caught."

_This is the guy we're looking for!_ thought Silver excitedly, memorizing each word that came out of the man's mouth, eyes shining with anticipation. Perhaps they could learn Jade's, or Rei as he seemed to like to be called, weakness, something they could use against him.

Blue was a little more solemn, imagining herself in Jade's position with what little information she had been given. Perhaps Jade and Amethyst had been like her and Silver, and just the thought of losing Silver felt like a stab through her back, piercing her spine and her heart in a single blow. But she couldn't pity the bad guy. Not when he had one of her friends in his hands.

"Do you know of any other ambitions he could have had? Did you ever overhear one of Amethyst's and Jade's conversations?" she questioned, sounding like an experienced reporter, voice confident and thirsty for knowledge.

"Why so curious about Jade?" replied the old man, beginning to look slightly suspicious. "He's been missing for years as well- I don't see why anyone would take a particular interest in him unless they had found him."

"We…" Blue paused, wondering whether or not to share the truth, that they _had_ kind of found Jade- except they had no idea where the hell he is at the present moment. Well, as far as lies went, she always figure it was better to just ask for forgiveness later. "We've been studying former Pokemon League finalists since we wanted to compete in the next one, but unfortunately, it seems as if we won't be able to ask Jade for advice." As far as the lie went, it was pretty bad, but luckily, the old man seemed to buy it.

"I don't think he'd be too eager to help anyways. In the few weeks after the tournament, before he ran away, any sentence containing the words 'league', 'tournament', or 'battle' ensured that something would be thrown at your head. I don't know how he is now, but I hope he's doing alright. He was a fine young lad, and I'd hate to see him waste his life." The man bent his head down, sighing, reminiscing in his memories.

"Well, in any case, can you tell us how he battles? Just as a reference? We wanted to learn about some strategies we could use," added Silver, wondering how much more they could squeeze out of the guy. It seemed as if he were running dry already.

"He goes for all-out offensive, no bars held back," he answered nostalgically. "Almost burned down this orphanage more than once with his Salamence. He also came pretty close to destroying it with his Gengar as well- those were quite the strong Pokemon. The only one I know who ever beat him, not that he participated in very many battles, was Amethyst."

"How did Amethyst beat him?" pressed Blue, wondering if they could still use the same strategy.

The man smiled wryly. "Amethyst was a skilled trainer, but she always enjoyed to depend a bit on luck. Her Gallade was trained to score Critical Hits- and one battle, she managed to take him down with luck."

_And there goes the strategy planning…_ thought Silver, realizing that was all they would probably get in terms of battle knowledge. _Dang it… How are we supposed to rescue Ruby with this little knowledge?_

"Was their goal to just take down the Pokemon League?" asked Blue, sounding truly inquisitive, the perfect mix of innocence and curiosity in her voice- but Silver could tell she was digging for important information. "Did they have other dreams?"

"I overheard something a little strange once- but it seems to be a little fuzzy, like I've forgotten it," recalled the old man, thinking hard. "It was something about 'changing the world' and 'legendary Pokemon', but I know something else. But all of you youngsters are like that. Wanting to change the world and get the strongest Pokemon."

"Could we have your name and a number to contact you again if we need it?" asked Blue, holding out a pad of paper and a pencil. "I have a feeling we might need to talk to you again. Just in case."

"There is no need for a number. I don't have any of your fancy gadgets," the old man laughed, his eyes twinkling for the first time. "My name is Shuu. If you need to see me, just come back to Lavaridge- you'll only need to come back here or ask around. I never leave home."

"Thank you, Shuu," said Blue, smiling. They had discovered a secret.

* * *

><p>Sapphire woke up with a gasp, shivering, unable to shake off a choking, terrifying sense of foreboding that grabbed at her heart, her blood, running through her veins like liquid fear. <em>What's going on?<em> she wondered, expecting to see the same kind of chaos that seemed to have taken over her life. A fire, a storm, piercing, chilling silver eyes…

But everything was peaceful; the only sound Yellow's gentle snoring. The blond was sleeping on a couch, a moonbeam ray shining a soft silver on her hair, a calm smile on her face, as if she were having a good dream. Sapphire took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but to no avail. It was as if something were tugging at her, summoning her, but she couldn't figure out what.

It was like she was a scrap of metal and some distance away, there was a magnet, but it wasn't close enough to pull her in. Instead, she was just on the boundary, unable to move away and having the intense desire to move in. _This feeling… I know it… But what?_ she asked herself, trying to force herself to remember. She knew she had experienced something similar before, perhaps not as strong, and she couldn't put her tongue on it.

Then suddenly, something came flooding back to her, a blue jewel orb, glowing slightly, the insides swirling as if they were alive, luring her in as if she were a moth and it was a light. But something stronger had called for her, something as ancient as the seas themselves, no, older still, and that was… Kyogre.

_But Rei said I couldn't help him with the two legendaries… And I thought I wasn't connected to Kyogre anymore…_ she thought, head spinning. _He was wrong._

She heard an echoing roar in her head, the roars of two legendary Pokemon, and she instinctively knew it was Groudon and Kyogre. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she was no longer in the hospital room. She was seeing from Kyogre's eyes.

The first thing that caught her eye was a glowing, red circle on the ground, similar to the twisting, bending lines on Groudon's and Kyogre's bodies, pulsing like the beating of a heart, the crimson rising higher and higher until it climbed into the sky. With every pulse, she could feel pain, like something was being leeched out of her, however, she knew that the one truly experiencing the pain was Kyogre, and she felt pity for the mighty Pokemon. No matter how much power it possessed, it could suffer too.

_Wait… Green said Rei probably has control over Kyogre! And that means…_ Sapphire could not turn as Kyogre's gaze remained forward, however, out of the edges of her vision she saw the blond figure grin as a purple sphere of energy appeared in his hands, growing with every beat of red.

Then, she froze. Rei's hands were covered in blood and she suddenly realized that the circle she had been staring at was drawn in blood, dark, drying blood that was almost brown now. There were small drips on the ground, leading into a darker corner of the cave which was impossible to make out, but between the flashes of red light, she saw a still, bleeding body lying on the ground, motionless.

She didn't need sight to recognize him, which sounded weird, but was true. The moment she saw the blood, she knew, but she didn't want to think it. But you can't deny something you see right in front of you.

His raven-black hair reflected the crimson and his clothes were stained with blood, as was the ground beneath him. She thought he was dead, he looked dead, there was so much blood, he had to be dead… But she saw him breathing, her eyes catching the minute falling and rising of his chest, and the slightest relief came over her. He wasn't dead- not yet.

_Why can't I go ta ya?_ she thought, trying to will herself out of Kyogre, shutting her eyes tight, wishing that her corporeal body was able to move, to go to Ruby's side, to be able to help him in any way. If she were able to, she'd crawl, she'd drag herself over, anything. It hurt so much to be so close, yet unable to do anything. _Why can't I ever do anything? I changed so I could protect da ones I love… Why am I still so helpless!_

She opened her eyes again, azure eyes wide with fear and guilt and longing. She couldn't see the cave anymore, the walls lit with fiery red, the floor stained with blood, Ruby's blood, Ruby's body, away in the corner, still bleeding, Ruby, dying…

_I know what I have ta do now!_ she realized, pulling her bag off of the nightstand and casting a guilty look towards Yellow, who was blissfully unaware of Sapphire's real-time nightmare. _I'm sorry, Yellow-senpai… But I have to do this alone! If I were stronger, I could have protected Ruby. No one else is allowed to get hurt but me!_

She walked over to the Pokemon Healing Machine to pull off her Pokemon, who awoke from the shaking. "Are you guys okay with travelin'?" she whispered, almost too quietly to hear. If Toro and Rono were unable to battle, she wasn't going to force this on them. But they nodded, determined looks on their faces. Smiling, she strapped their Pokeballs to her belt.

She could hear no one in the hallway, and she slowly and quietly opened the door, taking a quick glance around to be sure that no one saw her. If she were followed, it would go against the entire purpose of sneaking out. Her footsteps were as silent as a light breeze, like a phantom.

Once she was a good distance away from the hospital, she focused her mind, listening for a rustling of leaves. There was a hoot, but she ignored it, waiting for a familiar step, a familiar roar. After a few minutes, she heard it, and ran to find it.

"Pilo, boy!" she called out when she saw her Tropius standing in the middle of a clearing, munching on leaves on the higher branches of a tree. "I know where Ruby is. Help me, please."

The Tropius immediately stopped eating and lowered its head so Sapphire could easily climb on, stretching its leafy wings wide. Once the girl had boarded, it took a running start, flapping its wide wings until it was airborne, hurtling through the skies quickly and easily.

Sapphire knew that she'd be able to find Ruby. She could feel it, the calling in her blood. Her instinct would lead her there. _Ruby… Wait for me. I'll be there, no matter what. This time, you'll be safe for sure._

__***Guess what? I haz started a Nuzlocke comic. :V Check it out on my dA! Username is iluvshadowclaw. :3 Now that the self-advertising is over... Review Reply Time! :D***

**ruby-loverr: You feel sorry for him. :3 Ruby doesn't feel sorry for himself, because he can't remember anything! XD I am writing mawr. :3 But I'm only updating once a week as usual. XD **

**Jositree: Funnily enough, someone else just said that about my Nuzlocke. :V Thank you! XD **

**FighterGirl14: I finally figured out how to put in a divider... (sadness) I put in a line of asterisks on my iTouch, but for some reason, it doesn't seem to show up sometimes... Thanks for crushing my ChosenShipper heart. :V XD JK, JK. Thanks for the review!**

**I'll update next week, I promise! Please check out my Nuzlocke if you have time. ;)***


	12. Chapter 12

***Another week, another chapter! :O Though... Most of my attention has been focused on my Nuzlocke recently. :X However, I'm still writing this. :3 I'm on Chapter 18! :D XD Once I finish the story, I think I'll post at a faster rate. ^^ Now onto the chapter!***

Chapter 12

Ruby was panting when he entered the cave- a long day of hard training in the merciless sun had left him exhausted and covered in sweat. It had been worth it though- the increase in his Pokemon's strength and even his own was clearly evident. At the very least, he was much more lucid, and confident than before. Blood red rays of light cast their dying glare across the rock walls, almost making it seem as if actual blood had been splattered against them, painting it a dark crimson red. It was an ominous welcome.

Throughout the day, the Pokemon he had on hand had obeyed him well, though it was obvious that there was something they were holding back. They had been hesitant taking his commands, one tempo too slow as he fell into the rhythm of battling, letting the desire to win and confidence in his strength wash over him. That was strange- they were his Pokemon, weren't they? That was what Rei said at least. They should have been doing what he told them without pausing. At least they were strong enough to make up for what they lacked.

He had been hoping that spending time with his Pokemon would bring back a flashback at the very least, but all he had recovered from his memory was static. A clean, white slate, free of markings or blemishes. It hadn't even felt familiar to command them into battle, to give a curious stroke of their fur, to compliment when they did well or scold them when they messed up. They were foreign to him, just like everything else. They seemed to know him though, and he felt a slight guilt at being unable to respond to their recognition of him.

_I wish I could remember something… Something that I actually think, not something that Rei told me… After all, how do I even know he's telling the truth? _he wondered, a question he had been pondering all day, ever since Rei had dissipated into the air and left him to train. Most of his theories pointed to 'Yes'. There was just something unnerving and untrustworthy about Rei, and his doubts had grown exponentially, to the point where he wanted to either hide in the thick forests in the middle of the island or attempt to swim off the shore.

Except he had felt as if he were being watched the whole day, making it impossible to get off with getting stopped. He had even caught flashes of pale gold glinted off light, white-blond hair, chilling silver eyes hidden in dark shadows, heard the swish of an obsidian black cloak across the ground, alerting him to Rei's presence. He couldn't escape. So no matter what, he had no choice but to follow orders, didn't he? The truth, the lies- they didn't matter in the slightest. There was no way he could follow what his doubts told him to do.

Ruby had to blink a couple of times to adjust to the darkness, as the sun was almost completely set now- his eyes had become accustomed to the bright sunlight of day, and the inky darkness of the cave was just a sea of endless black, individual shapes impossible to make out, all blending into the cavern walls. But once his eyes adjusted, he could see in the shadows, the faint lights of night painting pale blue streaks into the cave, finding Rei's still form standing in the middle of the tunnel, staring straight at him, gaze unwavering. Rei could have been a statue for how still he stood- except for the eyes, which were most definitely alive. Ruby shivered- those intense, chilling silver eyes were terrifying.

"It took you long enough." Rei's voice echoed through the cavern, making it louder and more powerful than it was already, amplifying the authority it wielded, even though he had only spoken at normal volume. It was the kind of voice that filled you up with either the fire of rebellion or the obedience of a loyal servant, the command of a king- the very sound made Ruby straighten up, alert for the next words, not wanting to miss even a single letter, fearful of what would follow disobedience. For now at least, he had to act as the loyal servant. "Come. We might as well get this over with."

Rei beckoned with his right hand, and Ruby walked over to where the older man was standing, silent and unquestioning, head bent in submission, though his eyes were questioning and prideful, unyielding to the dominating force, the fire of rebellion. Rei smiled. That always made things much more interesting.

"Aren't you curious about the plans, Ruby?" he asked, silver eyes flashing, the question sounding almost rhetorical, as if he didn't expect the boy to answer. "Wouldn't you like to know what lies ahead for you?"

Ruby's instincts screamed _"Run, flee! Danger, danger, danger!"_but he remained right by Rei's side, still quiet. He was curious- but the man had asked in a way that seemed to demand silence, merely talking to fill the quiet. However, Rei's slightly irritated glance at Ruby's held tongue warned him that this was not the case.

"Kind of. But there's no way out of it, is there?" replied Ruby quietly, voice swelling with distrust. In the morning, he had felt more confident about Rei's intentions, but as he had become more lucid, he had started thinking, and thinking always leads to questions, which leads to doubts. "I'm going to have to do it whether I want to or not, won't I? So there's no point in me doing anything."

"Wise answer. You will have to go through it, like it or not. You seem to be quite hostile- this morning you were very amicable. Had a bad day?" teased Rei, voice now cold and chilling, the joke sounding like a threat. "Thought things through a little bit?"

"Kind of. I have no reason to trust you, because the only information and knowledge I have comes from you. But you're the only one who I know and I think you could easily crush me if I disobey you." Ruby was tense after confessing his thoughts, wondering how Rei would react- would he be angry, when just eight hours earlier he had basically commanded Ruby to trust him?

But the only way to describe his expression was 'amused'. No better word existed to describe the sly curl to his smirk and strange glint in his steely eyes. "I'm glad you took my lesson to heart. But you won't need them unless you survive."

They had walked into an open cavern now, when the stone ceiling above had collapsed to reveal the sky, a dark blue, covered in stars like black silk with glitter thrown on top. Ruby could hear droplets of water falling and hitting the ground, and he could feel heat filtering in from below. "Water and fire..." he murmured, tapping his foot nervously. "If I survive... What are you planning to do?"

"Wait. The moon has to be shining into this cave before the ceremony can begin. We also need the presence of two others- the legendary Pokemon, Groudon and Kyogre," Rei informed him, tilting his head towards the sky. "The moon will reach the edge of the sky we see in a few minutes- it's time to summon them."

Rei whistled, a high-pitched ringing noise that reverberated off the rocky walls, into the night sky, and instantly, two wild, feral roars chorused with the dying echos. Two pairs of loud stomps quickly approached, and Ruby could hear them steadily getting louder, feel stone raining on his shoulder from the forces above. His heart rate escalated in terror- what could lie in store for him?

Rei's hand clamped around his arm the moment he'd made up his mind to flee, effectively holding him in place. "I'm not letting you go now. Soon, I'll have total control over the two legendary beasts of earth and sea. Thanks to your services, Ruby. And as I've said so many times before- I hope you survive."

Ruby jumped back as a knife was slashed towards him, the blade barely an inch from his arm as it swung by, the displaced air feeling like a powerful wind as he gasped in surprise. He landed lightly on his feet, glaring at Rei, who clutched the knife in his right hand, smirking.

"Amazing reflexes, Ruby. I didn't expect you to jump back so fast- but a fight is always more interesting, isn't it?" Rei charged forward, almost too quick to see, but Ruby sidestepped with the same speed, his battle reflexes taking command of him.

Red flashes of light lit up the cavern with fire for a moment as Ruby released his Pokemon, glaring guardedly at Rei. "If a fight is what you want, you're not going to be disappointed!" shouted Ruby, crimson eyes shining ferociously. "Gardevoir, use Psychic!"

"Predictable," sighed Rei, his Gengar suddenly emerging from his shadow, blocking the blast with its own psychic powers. "Gengar, Shadow Ball!"

"Gardevoir, use your own Shadow Ball!" Ruby countered, and Ruru released a ball of pulsing purple light that swallowed the other whole, pushing forward at a rapid speed that the Gengar couldn't avoid, and the combined power of the two Shadow Balls easily knocked it out. "Was that predictable? If I lived after being stabbed by you, how would you possibly expect me to follow you?"

"Watch out behind you," replied Rei, smiling, returning his Gengar without a second glance at his fainted Pokemon. "Shame you wasted your time on contests. With more practice, I'm sure you'd be better at battling."

Ruby turned back to be buffeted in the face with a strong gust of wind, pushing him backwards, as if a hurricane were battering him. Ruru let out a shriek as the Salamence scored its sharp claws across her body, turning to face Ruby, knocking the boy onto the ground with a swift hit of its wings. In another second, its foot was upon his chest, pressing down so hard that Ruby thought his ribs would break, and its mouth opened, and he could see the fire building up in the back of his throat, the sparking embers starting to turn a bright, glowing white-

"Enough, Salamence. I know you have your grudges, but the ceremony won't work if he dies before I get his blood, and then how am I supposed to control the two legendary Pokemon?" asked Rei angrily, and the Salamence snarled as it stepped off of Ruby, leaving him breathing hard and unable to move. Ruby suspected the Salamence had perhaps broken a bone. "In a situation like this, you can't expect someone to play fair. Playing dirty is one of the greatest tricks in the game. If you play fair, you lose. It's as simple as that," he said, bending down so close that Ruby could feel his cold breath on his face. "Shame that you didn't realize that."

Ruby closed his eyes as Rei brought the knife down, trying to hold back his scream of pain as it tore into his arm, unwilling to let the man hear his suffering. Instead, what came out was a soft gasp, a grunt almost, and Rei looked somewhat impressed. "A tough one, eh? That's good, that's good. The odds of your survival just increased yet again. I'm quite surprised- from how you usually acted, I wouldn't have thought you were very strong at all. Good thing this memory loss allowed me to see your real strength."

"W-why?" Ruby wheezed, struggling to keep from screaming, drawing blood from his lip, which he had been biting to keep back the screams.

"The red orb and blue orb were created from blood, blood from a controller of Groudon and Kyogre respectively. I would have the orbs instead, however, they were destroyed five years ago," answered Rei, completely unfazed by the teenage boy bleeding out in front of him. He took out a flask and collected some of Ruby's blood, smiling at the suffering boy, taking in pleasure at the gruesome scene. "I need your blood to draw the sealing circles that will force Groudon and Kyogre to recreate the Red and Blue orbs. Unfortunately, there's not enough blood in your body to recreate both- but luckily enough-" Rei slashed Ruby's other arm as well, and Ruby let out a weak scream as his blood welled out, staining the ground as the sunlight of the setting sun had stained the stone walls. "We can make an orb that controls both at the same time- the Amethyst Orb. To answer your previous question, your blood will bind you to this orb as well- I should have some control over your actions. I don't need your loyalty- I only need you to be my puppet to trick those little friends of yours. I don't trust them running around and ruining my plans."

Through all the pain, Ruby could still feel himself becoming lightheaded from the loss of blood, the blood that was still pouring out in wide rivulets across his skin, the blood that Rei was using to seal Groudon and Kyogre. The two legendary Pokemon were completely still the moment the first drop of blood was splattered onto the ground beneath them, frozen like statues as Rei began to draw on the cave floor.

"According to legend, I was supposed to use the blood from your heart to create the orb," Rei said nonchalantly, as if he were discussing the time of day instead of how he should have killed Ruby instead of critically injuring him. "When the first two orbs were made, the two people who had managed to stop the two Pokemon with the help of Rayquaza sacrificed their lives to give the future generations a way to control the two beasts. But stabbing you in the heart would leave you useless to me in the future, and it'd just give me a corpse to bury. Too troublesome in my opinion."

Ruby simply lay prone on the ground, wishing the pain would stop, opening his eyes as he watched Rei add the finishing touches to the circle he had created, taking another dab of blood for one final stroke. The circle began to glow a vivid red, then blue, then white, and the chorus of Groudon's and Kyogre's unified screams pierced the cave, deafening him.

Where darkness had reigned only a moment ago, light replaced it, too bright for Ruby's eyes to take, and he felt blinded, eyes closing. The abundance of pain, the loss of his hearing and sight was too much, and he collapsed, unable to hold out any longer.

In Rei's hand was a small, dark-lilac colored orb, smeared with the blood that stained his fingers. He was smiling, smiling wickedly, on the verge of laughter. It had been easy, this easy to obtain the power he needed. Power simply flowed through the orb in his hand, but he wasn't about to use it yet. There was another potentially valuable playing piece that was dying at his feet. _Now I have all the power I need… This is for you and me, Amethyst…_

***Time for Review Replies! The regular reviewers didn't really review this time... And I think one of the people who reviewed doesn't know what Pokemon Adventures is. :/**_  
><em>

**just-a-chic: It's not odd that Ruby is a guy- that's kind of his official name. Like- given by the author of the manga and stuff. If you haven't read the manga yet, go and read it, because it's f-ing amazing. Mind telling me what needs improvement?**

**Venomeon: It was great to see you here, Noel. :3 Glad you took the time to read!**

**More reviews next time, please? *puppy eyes* I'll write faster, I promise!***


	13. Chapter 13

***Look, short chapter. :V But don't worry, the chapters I'm currently typing are longer. (Working on Chapter 20! Woot!) But those won't be released for a few weeks unless I finish. ;) Have I gotten you excited? XD Well, here's your chapter! Enjoy!)**

Chapter 13

The night sky was painted with sparkling diamonds, a rare sight for Blue, who was used to the overwhelming city lights of Kanto. She sighed, wishing she could observe this beauty when the world didn't seem to be turned upside down. If only her visit to Hoenn had gone as she had imagined- just a fun time at a festival with her friends. Not with one of them having lost their memory, kidnapped, and the rest of them running in hopeless circles in hopes that they could even find a _sign_ of where he is.

"Silver, have you told Yellow we're coming back yet? Is she calling everyone else back as well?" asked Blue impatiently, restlessly tossing and turning on Jiggly, who they were currently using to fly through the air. The giant pink Pokemon resembled a hot air balloon, which looked completely out of place against the dark blue velvet of the sky. "Silver?" Blue repeated when he didn't answer, turning her head anxiously.

"What? She's missing? How?" Silver said into the Pokegear, sounding shocked and serious. "Is there sign of a struggle? Her stuff's missing too?"

"Silver?" Blue suddenly felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. There was only one 'her' staying with Yellow at the moment... Sapphire. "Silver, Sapphire's missing, isn't she?"

He looked at her gravely, slowly closing his dark gray eyes and nodding. "I think she ran away. Probably to go find Ruby by herself," he said, replying to both Yellow and Blue. "We'll meet you there, Yellow."

"Why would she go after him by herself?" asked Blue, sitting up, suddenly feeling uncharacteristic anxiety wreck her body, a fearful trepidation. "She's faced our opponent and knows how strong he is. She has no idea where Ruby is. She's not stupid enough to do something like this!"

"Sapphire wasn't able to protect Ruby when he was kidnapped. She was right there when Rei took him away. She's obviously in love with Ruby, and she's feeling immense guilt. She probably feels like she's responsible for this- she's not of course-" he added, catching the 'don't blame her' look on Blue's face. "But that's probably how she feels. In a way, it's not surprising. I'd probably do the same if you were kidnapped in front of me."

"I know," Blue sighed, closing her aquamarine eyes, trying to choke down her worries. "But it's so dangerous for her to be out there alone. We know what Rei can do. Sapphire rejected his offers- we all did. If he catches her, he'll probably..." Her voice trailed off and a tear formed at the corner of her eye. Ruby and Sapphire were like her little siblings. Being about five years older than them, she'd virtually babied them whenever she visited Hoenn or when they came to Kanto. They were her family.

"I know. But we're not going to let that happen, right?" Silver carefully wiped her tears away, giving a soft smile to Blue. "We have the information we need. We know what Rei can do, and we did extra research on how to defeat him. All we need to do is catch that Pokemon."

"I know..." replied Blue, trying to keep the sniffle out of her voice. "Sapphire won't find Rei with any luck, and hopefully, she'll come back when she doesn't. I just hope Ruby's okay."

Silver didn't answer. The correct answer would be to say the younger boy was fine, that there was nothing wrong, that there was no harm done. He and Blue had both read the books on the legendary Pokemon of Hoenn thoroughly but... He'd kept the information on the creation of the Red and Blue orbs hidden from her. She didn't need to know. It was bad enough that Ruby was missing, let alone... Only he had to know.

"I hope so too," he finally replied, taking her hand and squeezing it, wrapping his other arm around her. "I hope so too."

***************  
>"What did you find out about Rei?" asked Green, completely straightforward, wasting no time getting the questions started.<p>

"His hometown, age, name, and previous status in the Pokemon League," answered Silver in the same serious nature.

"He was raised in an orphanage in Fallabor Town, and his real name is Jade. However, he went by the name of Rei in official tournaments. He is currently 24, and was a finalist in the Hoenn Pokemon League Tournament six years ago," said Silver swiftly, yet steady enough so his speech was completely understandable.

"Finalist?" inquired Gold, amber eyes inquisitive. "Who beat him? If we could get them to fight with us-"

"He didn't lose," interrupted Silver, cutting his rival's sentence short. "The tournament he competed in was the one where the stadium was burned to a crisp in an accident. His Salamence's Fire Blast had been powered by the sun and it caused an uncontrollable fire that destroyed the place. His opponent was killed in the blaze."

The room was completely silent for a moment until Crystal said, "Did he do it on purpose?"

"Most likely not." It was Blue who answered this time, her voice loud and clear, recovered from her slight panic meltdown earlier. "You see... She was his childhood friend. We talked to the founder of the orphanage, and he says they were almost always together. It was an accident. One that killed a lot of people."

"This is great information and all, but... How does this help us beat the stinking guy?" asked Gold bluntly, frowning. "I mean, knowing his past won't help us much, will it? It's obvious that he doesn't mind burning things to crisps. I'm lucky I made it out of that fire almost completely unscathed." He rolled up his sleeve, showing a long burn up the side of his arm. "See? He doesn't mind playing with fire if that's what you're suggesting."

"No, that's not what we're saying," answered Silver. "We researched him to form a clear picture of who he is. A power-hungry, arrogant, strong trainer who's had a dream of ruling the world since childhood. His opponent, his childhood friend, Amethyst- she shared those same dreams. They were partners. We asked some kids who grew up with them. Apparently, Jade and Amethyst wanted to be King and Queen."

"I kind of figured out the 'power-hungry, arrogant, strong' thing from what we knew already," commented Gold, pressing at his rival. "Knowing he killed his girlfriend isn't going to help us. She's been dead for a long time. It's likely he doesn't care anymore."

The room was quiet, but Silver could feel silent support for Gold's words. There was nothing truly useful from the information he and Blue had discovered. But about his Pokemon...

"We all know that Rei has control over the Continent Pokemon Groudon and the Ocean Pokemon Kyogre," he started, shaking a lock of red hair out of his eyes. "There is a Pokemon that can stop those two from wreaking havoc. It's done that several times in the past."

"Rayquaza." Green closed his eyes, picturing the emerald-colored dragon he'd read about in a book of Hoenn legends. "Do you know where it is?"

"Sky Pillar. It's definitely there, we checked with the Weather Institute in Mossdeep," confirmed Silver. "Rei isn't likely to target it since its very presence negates the effect of weather. In other words, it just hinders him. He's using Groudon and Kyogre for sheer power as well as to manipulate the weather to his advantage. Rayquaza, no matter how powerful, cripples the second advantage of having both Groudon and Kyogre. If we can take the third legendary for our own, we might be able to keep up with the battle."

"You make it sound as if we've never gone through something like this before," said Red lightly, though everyone could read the seriousness behind it. "All of us have faced similar hardships before, and teaming up, we are even more powerful. The help of Rayquaza would be great, but- how do we control Rayquaza?"

Silver let out a chuckle with no humor, closing his eyes and smiling a tight smile. "There is no definite way to control it, even if you do capture it. The same applies to Groudon and Kyogre- a Pokeball puts them under your 'control', however, there's no guarantee it'll listen. If we had more Gym Badges, several, several more, and amplified the power, perhaps we'd be able to control it entirely. However, we cannot."

"If only Ruby or Sapphire were here to give us information on those three Pokemon. They've actually seen and fought with 'em," commented Gold, twirling his billiard cue, the swirling tip only inches away from smacking the others in the head. "But unfortunately, those two are the ones who are missing. Who else has battled with them?"

"A lot of Gym Leaders in Hoenn- but no one has controlled Rayquaza as far as the records we found show. Someone tried to, and nearly died doing so. We'll just have to capture it and hope it feels like fighting," answered Silver, not missing a beat. "Now we need to stop wasting time."

"Even missing two, we will overcome this! We will find them, and we will defeat Rei!" chanted Blue, and her chant was met with a chorus of cheers.

"One team should go to the Weather Institute and the other to the Sky Pillar. That ensures the most efficient way to handle this," said Green, viridian-hued eyes cool and calm. Even in a tense situation, he could keep his composure without a problem. "Red, Silver, Crystal and I will head to Sky Pillar. The rest of you start on the journey to the Weather Institute. Call my Pokegear immediately if you have information." He pulled down his sleeve to show the watch-like device. Turning to Silver, he asked, "I trust you know where the Pillar is. You do know, right?"

"Of course!" Silver was tempted to follow up with 'What do you take me for?' but resisted the urge. Despite the calm, smooth way their short meeting had went, it was obvious that they were wasting time.

He felt a slight twinge of guilt at not revealing Rei's motive for kidnapping Ruby- to kill him and use the blood to create new orbs that allow Rei to control the legendary beasts without a problem. There was huge mental stress involved in controlling two legendary Pokemon simultaneously, however, if Rei had known the procedure for recreating the orbs, he had to know the consequences of wielding command of Groudon and Kyogre.

To control just one legendary took an enormous toll on the mind, and even with the medium of both a Pokeball and the Orb, Rei's sanity would pay the price for his rash actions. It had to be shaky already- wielding any power over a 'ruling-class' legendary, Pokeball or not, would still damage a person.

The problem for them was Rayquaza. Would hoping for the best really be enough? Or would Rayquaza's capturer- which would likely end up being Crystal, due to the young woman's phenomenal catching abilities- end up sacrificing themselves? Silver shivered. The 'what if's were too many and too risky. But it was a risk they had to take.

Despite it just being a portable, electronic encyclopedia, taking the Pokedex meant taking on responsibilities. They were all heroes in their own accord. All they had to do now was pull it off again.

Silver released his Honchkrow, allowing its sharp talons to dig into his shoulders, securing him for the upcoming flight. "Are you ready?" he asked, walking out of the room. Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "Let's go."

***Thanks to all of you who reviewed! ;D **

**pokemon56476: Generic reviews are quite welcome! Reviews in general are quite welcome! XD I tend to put most of my attention on the parts with Ruby... (because Ruby deserves my full undivided attention, not "ZOMG what a cute kitten!" like I usually am. XD) You should reread PokeSpe, if only to re-enjoy it. X) I do it every week or so. **

**Mystic: Your review made me smile for a whole day. :) It's great to know I give people something to look forwards to! Ruby is bound to the orb. He'll have to listen to Rei like it or not! *evil cackle* You thought of something similar? It'd be cool if you wrote it... *wants to read***

**DCA123: Not this chapter apparently. Let me check Chapter 14 for ya... Yup, she's in the next chapter! Don't worry, there's this one huge part somewhere in the future where she gets almost a whole chapter... If my memory is working correctly. I'd love to see Rei in the manga. That totally didn't sound obnoxious and vain. :X I can't wait for Hoenn remakes... It means more Ruby... (please excuse me while my fangirl side takes over and renders me useless.) *in background* Kyaaah! Ruby! *hugs***

**AnonymousisSleepy: You caught me. :/ I'm not putting them in. I have too much to think about as it is. It's hard to get ten people into a story... (I mean eleven with Rei) let alone... above twenty. I just don't have the skill for that. XD Maybe in my next fanfic... (or a sequel. *le gasp*) In my opinion, Ruby is the best battler. (I'd love to see Ruby vs. Red. It would be freaking awesome.) Of course, Red would probably win just because that's his title... (but I think Ruby is better still. :P)**

**Kimiko Heroux: You're back! :D I've thought this through... *laughs* I'm making it up as I go my friend! (with a little bit of forethought) I'll update weekly, just like I usually do. ;) (because otherwise, my cushion will disappear.) **

**Record reviews! *cheers* Yay! And I also got a job this week as well. :D (random, I know.) But don't worry, it won't intrude on this story. X) Please review! See you all next week!***


	14. Chapter 14

***... ... This chapter's long. Jace is awesome... And so is Sebastian... (excuse me while I try to shake off my extreme Mortal Instruments addiction. It's always been there, but a new book just came out. :X) So anyways, Sapphire is here, as promised! ;) And you guys gave me 7 reviews! :D 7! What a lovely number. :3 Onto the story...***

Chapter 14

Sapphire knew she had found the right place when she was met with furious rain, drenching her clothes and making her feel as heavy as lead, exchanging constantly with strong, harsh sunlight that seemed to burn her skin and suck away at her energy. She could also feel the peculiar call running through her veins. It could perhaps be described as almost a game of 'hot-and-cold', Kyogre seemed to be telling her whether or not she was getting closer or not, and she knew she was red-hot. Though, it was hard to feel hot when it felt like you were being drowned in rain, despite flying in the air. This is how the disasters of Hoenn from five years ago started, she thought absentmindedly. Are they going to happen again?

Fighting the air currents and the rain, both Sapphire and Pilo were drained of energy, only barely staying in the air. The Tropius's wing flaps were becoming more slow and forced, but it had to keep flying, or they would drown in the depths below. Or Sapphire would never be able to save Ruby.

The girl always felt like crying when she thought of him, knowing deep inside that it was all her fault he had been taken away. She had become a trainer so she could be strong enough to protect the people she loved, protect the boy who had so bravely saved her from the Salamence, who had protected her too many other times to count, her best friend, her partner, her rival... She hadn't been strong enough to save the one person who really mattered to her. In her vision, he had looked almost dead, taking tedious breaths as his blood stained the cave floor beneath him. But he couldn't be dead, she told herself, feeling tears and something that felt like a knife twisting in her heart. Because I'm goin' ta save him. I'm definitely goin' ta!

With a revitalized spirit, she cried, "Pilo, fly higher!" She felt the rain beating against her skin start to weaken, the rolling of thunder in the black clouds fading. This was her chance to get past the protective shield of weather. "This is impossible to fly through! So we're going to fly above it!"

The heat and the storm had formed a wall of sorts, with inpenetrable winds and unwelcoming conditions. She knew if she flew too high while it was raining, she risked being electrocuted by the lightning- not that the risks of that weren't high enough already.

By flying higher, she hoped to escape the winds and find out where she was supposed to land. She envisioned the storm as a hurricane, with the still, calm peaceful 'eye' in the middle. That would be where Kyogre, and Ruby, were located.

Her soaking hair buffetted her face, sticking to her skin as the clouds cleared up, however, the wind was ceaseless, blowing so hard she could barely keep her eyes open against the endless onslaught, constantly shifting in the direction they blew. North? West? East? South? Sapphire had lost track a long, long time ago.

"Ah," she gasped as she nearly slipped from her Tropius's neck, clutching onto its long, sturdy neck for dear life. The wind had thrown her off-balance, and the Pokemon was having a hard time constantly adjusting to the direction of the fierce winds.

Climbing back on, with a determined look in her sharp blue eyes, Sapphire commanded, "Higher, Pilo, higher! We hafta get higher!"

The Pokemon complied, using what was left of its strength to beat the air with broad leafy wings, soaring upwards to where the sun shone like a bright golden coin.

"Yer doing it!" exclaimed Sapphire excitedly as she felt the gusts around her begin to die down until they were nothing more than light breezes. "Yah did it, Pilo! Now I have to find out where Ruby is! Just hang on for a few more minutes, Pilo!" she said to the exhausted Pokemon, feeling guilty for forcing Pilo to have to beat his workload alone. Unfortunately, she had no other flying type, so this was the only course of action.

Down below, there was island, beaches covering the whole perimeter, a forest in the middle, and a large hole into what Sapphire suspected to be a cave. Her powerful eyesight also spotted a small tower near the edge of the water, with a tiny window facing the beach. She couldn't see any doors.

She wanted to charge down right into the island, but she knew it was too risky. Wind was invisible- she had no way of telling whether or not it was safe to simply attempt to land on the island. Not to mention that she'd have to choose a way to come down discreetly and hide, lest she be discovered by Rei.

She waited until the clouds of rain reappeared, swirling around the island like a whirlpool, meaning that the island itself most likely had no wind.

"Pilo! Fly for that spot right there!" she said, pointing to a thicket of dense forest close to the tower, bracing her self as Pilo shifted his wings and position to hurtle down towards the hole below. She closed her eyes as she felt wind buffet her for a few seconds, only to brush against the leaves of trees the next.

Pilo landed with a resounding thud, but Sapphire could barely hear it, unadjusted from her time up in the clouds where the only sounds had been the loud roaring of wind and noisy crackling of thunder. The Pokemon collapsed onto the ground, Sapphire barely managing to pull her leg away before it was crushed underneath the Tropius's heavy body.

"Go hide, Pilo," she said quietly, unable to hear herself. "You deserve a good rest, but you're gonna hafta run first. I don't want Rei ta find ya." The Pokemon gave a tired grunt before heading to the trees.

She looked around, suddenly realizing how much less bright it was than it was outside the island. Of cos... she thought. It's only early mornin'. I guess Groudon's ability made it brighter? I wonder how long I was flyin'. A good couple hours at least... She shook her head to clear them of her pointless thoughts. Concentrate, Sapphire! Ya gotta find Ruby! My first target is that tower!

She could see the tip of it rising above the trees to her right, and instantly ran towards it, hoping that she'd be able to figure out how to get to the window once she was able to get over there. Unfortunately, even with the tower a mere feet away, lkooking up, there was no visible way up except to fly.

Pilo's too worn out for dat... she thought, knowing her only flying-type would be unable to manage the way up, even if it wasn't that high. I'm goin' ta hafta get creative!

She drew out a Pokeball, releasing Toro and quickly giving commands to it. "Toro, can ya get me up there with Sky Uppercut? I can grab onto the window edge once I get up."

The Blaziken nodded, the fiery rings around its wrists lighting up at the challenge. Carefully perching atop her Pokemon's head, Sapphire counted down. "3... 2... 1... Go!"

It was like flying, not really, but the weightless feeling in her stomach and the sudden exhilaration despite the fact she was absolutely exhausted was similar. Toro's powerful punch wasn't enough to propel the pair the entire way up, however, Sapphire was able to leap off, her strong legs and years of jumping up and down trees (yes, jumping) allowed her to easily land on the narrow ledge, expertly keeping her balance, returning Toro into its Pokeball as she did so.

"Ruby!" she whispered as she looked through the glass, seeing the boy in a bed on the other side, crude, but obviously effective, bandages wrapped around his arms, clothes torn and bloody. It was obvious that he'd been through a rough time. He was still covered in blood.

Sapphire pressed her hands against the glass, suddenly realizing that she would be unable to get through without breaking the glass. But if Rei showed up, he'd be immediately notified of her presence.

A Pokeball inside the room suddenly opened, and out came Ruru, who stared at Sapphire with an intense gaze. Sapphire met it without blinking, feeling herself floating for a split second, teleporting, and reappearing inside the room.

"Thank you, Ruru," she said, giving the Gardevoir a thankful smile. She walked over to the bed, feeling herself begin to cry as she took Ruby's hand without thinking.

"Ruby... I'm so sorry. I should have been stronger, he shouldn't have been able to take you from me! This is all my fault," she whispered, trembling. "I'm going to get you out of here, I promise, I-"

Ruru suddenly raised its hands, using its psychic abilities to force Sapphire under the bed, tucked tight into a dark corner. Sapphire could think of only one reason why the Pokemon would do such a thing. The sight of two shoes and the feet of a Gengar confirmed her fears. Rei was here.

"Rayquaza makes its home on the 50th floor of this tower," said Silver, staring upwards towards a unnaturally clear sky. No clouds, no burning sun, no torrential rains. Such things were prevented by the mere presence of the long green dragon. "We can only fly part of the way up though- once we reach a certain height, the air outside the tower will be almost completely devoid of oxygen and full of poisonous ozone, not to mention that wild Pokemon do their best to guard from intruders."

"Then how far up can we fly?" asked Green, struggling to see the top of the tower. "Halfway up?"

"Most of the way, actually. All the way up to floor 49- but it might be safer to enter on a lower floor. I'm not sure if the same conditions still apply and asphyxiation is nothing to laugh at." Silver's metallic gray eyes gave a cold glint, shining in the sunlight that he couldn't feel, making him shiver. Another ability of Rayquaza- not only was severe weather prevented, you couldn't feel the effects of weather. If it had been raining, he wouldn't be wet nor cold. "We'll have a team going inside the tower and outside. You can fly inside, I believe. I asked someone who went in before- he didn't fly, but he says it's possible. It might be better to split up as well- it'll save time if one of the options doesn't work."

They all exchanged critical glances, staring up once again with slight trepidation. It was like they could feel Rayquaza's power emanating from the stone tower itself, coming off in invisible, pulsating waves. But they were Pokedex holders. They could handle it. They'd done greater things before.

"I'll take Aero to fly on the inside," volunteered Red after a short moment of silence. "Since it's a tower, I'm betting there's twists and turns- Aero will manage it better than Honchcrow, Charizard, or Mantine."

"I don't think you should go in alone," said Green, who seemed to have taken the comment about his Charizard as a challenge, viridian eyes flashing. "You tend to make a lot of rash, stupid decisions when you're alone. So I'll follow you, and you'll see exactly how well Charizard can handle turns."

Red rolled his eyes at his best friend. Green was right, but Red couldn't resist sticking his tongue out a little. Just because he'd grown up didn't mean he didn't act like a kid.

"Oh grow up," retorted Green, returning the eye roll with a hint of a smile, climbing into his Charizard. "I'll see you guys at the top." He gave a small wink before returning to his stolid ever-present scowl as he took off, leaving a small trail of dust and turned-over rubble behind him.

"Wait up!" cried Red, realizing that Green had just gotten himself a head start, Aero's claws tightening on his shoulders, carrying its trainer up into the air and following the Charizard, quickly gaining distance, entering the dark hole that made up the tower entrance.

"We should take off too," said Silver, his Honchkrow grabbing into his shirt, talons digging snugly into the black cloth, lifting the red-haired boy off the ground with great flaps of ebony wings. "We'll fly up as high as we can and find the nearest window from there."

Emerald and Crystal nodded, hopping onto Mantine's broad navy-blue back, holding on tight to its 'wings.' "Got it." The manta ray Pokemon rose slowly, but steadily, making sure that its passengers weren't going to fall off as it started to gain speed.

Emerald looked up suddenly and frowned as his water-type followed Silver, scrutinizing the sky, where he could have sworn he saw something bright and fast. "Did you see lightning?" he asked Crystal, who shook her head in confusion at the young boy's sudden question.

"What are you talking about, Rald?" she asked, sounding dubious, unsure. "There aren't even clouds- how would there be lightning?" Even as she said that, she tilted her head upwards too to check. No clouds. No lightning.

"I don't know, but I definitely saw something," he replied as the Mantine continued spiraling the tower as it gradually climbed higher and higher. "It was blue. There it is again!"

He said it so loudly that even Silver, who was a few floors above them, heard and looked up just in time to catch a flash of blue, and then red. Red lightning? Blue he could believe, but red- that just didn't happen.

"I don't think that's lightning, Emerald," said Silver cautiously, slowing his Honchkrow's flight, metallic gray eyes completely focused on the sky, waiting for the flashes to appear again. "That's not fast enough- and never in my life have I even heard of red lightning."

"Then what-" Emerald paused, freezing as he realized what the 'lightning' was. "Watch out, Silver! That lightning isn't lightning, they're-" Without warning, the light appeared again, and stuck at Silver, who was staring in the other direction.

The red-haired boy's eyes widened in shock, turning his head, as the fast-moving streak of blue missed him and his Honchkrow by mere inches. And then he knew too. It was Latios. Rei must have sent it here. He had read them like a book. Silver thought on his feet- there was only one course of action. Battle.

"Catch me!" screamed Silver, his Honchkrow dropping him onto the Mantine below, and he landed as lightly and gracefully as a cat, quite experienced in high drops. "Weavile! Go!"

The dark-type came flying out of its Pokeball in a night-colored blur, jumping into the Honchkrow's back with stunning agility, almost invisible due to its speed. Its bright-red eyes searched the skies for the Latis, its body tensed as it awaited orders, ears perked up. It saw blue and red coming from opposite directions.

"Honchkrow, use Dark Pulse!" commanded Silver as he spotted the legendary Pokemon, smiling in satisfaction as the black rings pulsated outwards, leaving dark purple aura in its wake, hitting the two incoming targets with its large reach. "Weavile, follow up with Night Slash!"

One moment, Weavile was still on Honchkrow's back, but a second later, it had already leaped off, flying as fast as the two legendaries, claws streaming inky black shadow as they slashed the surprised Latis, who recoiled in pain as the ice-type struck them both, the Weavile using their bodies as platforms to propel itself back onto Honchkrow's wings, ready to strike another blow.

"Dusknoir, use Mean Look!" screamed Emerald, cringing at the sight of his opponents. He didn't want to fight Latios and Latias- they were his friends. But what choice did he have?

The two Pokemon froze in place, as if hit by a powerful blizzard, easy targets as Honchkrow and Weavile released their powerful combo attack once more. Their high-pitched shrieks pierced the air as they fell, spiraling towards the ground.

"Catch them, Dusknoir," said Emerald, averting his gaze. It was painful to have to hurt the two Pokemon who were at one point his only friends. "Don't let them fall." The ghost type raised its translucent gray hands, slowing the Latis descents with a strange, dark purple light.

"It's too dangerous to just let them stay there, Emerald," said Silver, resting his hand on Emerald's small shoulder. "What if they come to attack us once they get their energy back? I don't think we can handle Rayquaza as well as those two again."

"I don't think I can do it," Emerald replied, squeezing his eyes shut. "I know it's just a battle, but I don't want to hurt Latios and Latias. Silver, Crystal, please do it for me." He heard the creepy, quiet noise of a Dark Pulse and felt the air burst into flame next to him as Crystal's Arckee released a powerful Flamethrower. It was quiet. The two legendaries didn't even scream.

"They're not going to recover for a while now," said Crystal quietly as Emerald opened his eyes. "Once we catch Rayquaza, we'll see about what we can do with them. It's dangerous to have such powerful Pokemon controlled by the enemy so close to us. Arckee will make sure they don't escape." On cue, the Arcanine leaped down despite the fact that they were several stories up, about twenty. Its pale yellow fur whipped upwards as it fell, paws extended as if to catch the ground beneath it. If Emerald hadn't seen it pull such stunts before, he would have been worried, but there was no need to fear. Arckee landed as gracefully as a Persian.

They travelled the rest of the way up the tower in silence- luckily, it didn't take too long, so the awkwardness that came with quiet didn't have too much of a chance to take over. At the top they were met by Red and Green, who had been waiting impatiently for their juniors to show up.

"You guys are too slow!" taunted Red jokingly, though he sobered up instantly once he caught the look on Emerald's face, tone instantly turning serious. "What happened?"

"We'll talk later," interrupted Silver, walking to the side of the large, spacious room where an iron chain was barely hanging out of a hole in a wall. "Now it's time to catch Rayquaza. Emerald, go to the center of the room." The small blond boy obeyed, standing on the pattern-inscribed circle, expression determined and ready.

Silver pulled, and suddenly, light flooded the room from above, along with an infuriated, ear-splitting roar. The ceiling exploded in a starburst of rubble and broken stone, and sharp, obsidian black claws followed by a green, scaly arm burst through. Without a second's warning, Emerald had been snatched by Rayquaza.

***And you have to wait for next week to find out more. I pity you guys. :V XD But the next chapter is over 4,600 words long... ;) Review Replies!**

**Mystic: That might not happen for another couple chapters or so. :X I usually update around 7-8 EST, so that's the best time to check. ;) Make an account! Nothing wrong with having one. ^^**

**spiritgurl21: Suspense is my middle name. (not really. :V That'd be horrible. XD) Here's your update! Now wait another week in suspense. :3 **

**blazelight790: I love Hoenn and its legendaries/characters too! (it's my fav region both in-game and in-manga. :X) I mentioned Emerald a few times here. :3 (I'm bad with his character, so he's not around as often as he should. Sorry...) And Sapphire found Ruby... **

**AnonymousIsSleepy: I wanted to, but then I realized I'd have to include so many other people. E4, Gym Leaders, everyone... It's hard enough with 10 Dex Holders to keep track of. I think Ruby would win! Ruby purposely chose Pokemon weak to Emerald's and could have easily taken out Sceptile while it was frozen. He's got the best battle instinct. (but of course, for manga purposes, Red would probably win. Shame.) Mind a long review? MIND? I love it!**

**KimikoHeroux: Of course Rayquaza is involved. If there is earth and water, there must be sky! :D I don't think Rayquaza enjoyed Emerald disturbing its nap though... Updated! Hope a week counts as 'soon.' XD**

**Eleni: Your wish has been granted. ;)**

**anon: Sorry, it's Amethyst. ^^ Who knows? I think it's partially because of her, but he's also just that type of person...**

**Please leave a review! They make me feel happy. XD See you next week!***


	15. Chapter 15

***Oh, look at this giant chapter! :O Both of those cliffhangers get answered... I guess. :3 Read and see! ;)***

Chapter 15

Sapphire held her breath, keeping her body completely still, like stone. Even if she hadn't been trying to keep herself silent, unmoving, she probably would have been

able to do it anyways. She was absolutely paralyzed with terror.

The only thing she could hear was her heart, _thump thump, thump thump_, the beats like the wing beats of Illumise and Volbeat, fast and hot, pumping through her veins like liquid fire. Or was it ice? After all, it seemed to freeze every part of her, forced a chill down her spine. She felt cornered, because she was. The only thing going for her was that Rei didn't know she was here- hopefully.

The Gengar. She could only pray that it didn't detect her presence, didn't know she was here, didn't see her with those piercing red eyes that were as cold as its master's. If it saw her, it was Game Over. No restarts, no continues, no extra lives. Rei would probably kill her this time, and then who could protect Ruby?

"What's this Gardevoir doing out of its Pokeball?" Rei said, not really asking anyone. Ruby, after all, was asleep, his crimson eyes shut behind pale eyelids, Murkrow-black hair tousseled as it usually was when he was sleeping.

Sapphire's heart lurched. She remembered countless nights and days where Ruby had fallen asleep in their Secret Base despite constantly complaining the place was a dump and filthy from all the dirt she carried in daily ("Is not!" she had protested) and she had caught a glimpse of his relaxed features, completely innocent and naive in slumber. She wanted to be back in the Secret Base with Ruby, to hear his steady, rhythmic breathing, a comforting noise she could depend on. She couldn't hear it now- it was probably too light and weak for even her powerful ears to pick up.

"Oh well, it doesn't matter," continued Rei, answering himself, his feet shifting closer to the bed, close enough that Sapphire felt like she could see every speck of dust on the shiny black leather. "Gengar will take care of you if you cause me any trouble." The ghost type turned so its back was towards Sapphire and faced Ruru. She could see its bright white smile through its translucent body.

Suddenly, her vision was replaced, and she immediately knew she was seeing through Ruru's eyes. Gardevoir was a Pokemon that could sense emotions- it could feel her agitation at only being able to hear what was going on, to have only sound and feet to help her interpret the situation. She mentally thanked the psychic type- she hoped it could hear her.

Rei's pale golden hair reflected the morning light streaming through the window as a soft white glow, the angelic look that was anything but the man's personality. His fine features were adorned with a twisted smile that expressed the evil hiding behind his pleasant, charming exterior. A demon guised as an angel. Sapphire hated him.

Rei spoke again, quietly, so quietly that couldn't really pick up much emotion behind his voice, but it sounded like sick, sadistic pleasure. "Wake up, Ruby. Haven't you had enough sleep?"

Ruby's name slipped so easily off of Rei's tongue, but it sounded strange, wrong, foreign. Rei said it as if to a friend, maybe, his smirk still on his face. His silvery eyes were unreadable, mysterious, dark, shadowed. What reason did he have for sounding so, so- so damn friendly, yet so evil at the same time?

It filled Sapphire with horrible anticipation, the moment where you know something terrible is about to enfold right before you, but you don't know what, how, or even why, and you're powerless to stop it. What she was about to see, she knew, she could feel it, could destroy the little hope, the little spirit she had left.

Ruby opened his eyes, and the moment his signature red irises were visible, Sapphire knew there was something fundamentally wrong in his vapid stare, his eyes lightless, dark, still, emotionless. The dark-haired boy said nothing, just looking forwards blankly, like an oversized porcelain doll. Waiting for further words, further orders. Like a puppet... Sapphire realized with horrid dread.

"We've got a long, fun day ahead of us," Rei said, drawing out the word fun slowly, cruelly, and Sapphire knew what he had planned was anything but fun, at least not for anyone else. "Thanks to you, I finally have complete control over both Groudon and Kyogre."

Rei reached into the deep pocket of his sweeping black cloak, drawing out the jewel Sapphire had seen through Kyogre, the purple orb of swirling shades, light and deep, pale lilac and dark violet, a perfect mix of the blue and red orbs. The Amethyst Orb, Rei had called it. She could see orb reflected in his eyes, amethyst swimming around in the silver pools, and for some reason, she felt... sadness? Regret? Guilt?

These are da emotions Ruru's pickin' up, she realized, feeling a sudden, uncontrollable pity at the aching strength of Rei's hidden emotion. The man had a heart behind his cold, twisted, evil exterior, and it had surprised Sapphire.

All the villains she had encountered so far didn't seem to have one- or at least, if they did, it had ceased to function. She remembered how five years ago Ruby had held Mimi, then a Feebas, tight to his chest, protecting the dying Pokemon, trying to get Archie and Maxie to understand the power of the heart, to get them to stop, to see the destruction they were causing. Unfortunately, Rei's heart didn't seem to be stopping him from achieving his wicked ambitions.

"Snap out of it," commanded Rei, voice sharp, to Ruby, who shook his head, the night-black hair, which Sapphire now noticed was in clumps, stuck together with dried blood, becoming even messier and somewhat wild, a little life returning to his crimson eyes, though not much. They were still hollow, shallow, blank. Rei smiled, pleased, and his emotions were under wraps once more, unreadable, undetectable. "Good."

Ruby looked... hesitant would be the right word, unsure, nervous. But not afraid, not untrusting. He was staring at Rei obediently, he had at Wallace, like a puppy to its master. "Master," he said, his voice hoarse, like how it had been when he woke up in the hospital after the storm.

Almost as if he had drawn it out of thin air- he might have in the second where Sapphire blinked her eyes- Rei had conjured a glass of water and given it to the thirsty boy. Ruby drank it greedily, with total disregard. Sapphire didn't know the boy she saw and her heart plummeted. At least she could see a remnant of Ruby when he had been walking around the fair with her. This Ruby was... she didn't even know, but she couldn't recognize him.

It made her want to cry, but she knew she had to stay silent lest Rei or his Gengar found her corporeal form underneath the pitiful hiding spot of Ruby's bed. Could she rescue Ruby, bring him back?

"Gengar, take Ruby to the beach, and come back in a minute," instructed Rei casually, and Sapphire felt a lump of fear rising in her throat. The blond man's eyes were filled with that strange, evil pleasure again- if she could have shrunk to escape that stare, that terrifying smile, shrunk to the speck of a dust to escape, she would. Her heart was pounding louder than the roars of a whole group of Exploud, and she wanted to cover her ears with her hands in hopes of making it quieter for herself.

"Return." Rei had grabbed Ruru's Pokeball and pressed the white button on the red and white sphere, the Gardevoir dissipating in a stream of rose-huedlight. Sapphire's vision returned to her own body, and once again, all she saw was feet. She couldn't even see Rei's face, giving her absolutely no clues to what he was thinking. She heard a click, the familiar click of attaching a Pokeball to one's belt. And then a chuckle, a terrible laugh that filled her with dread. "You might as well come out now, Sapphire." She wanted to pass out, if only to escape the suffocating terror, she had never experienced such fear. "Come. I won't hurt you... For now."

Slowly, very slowly, she crawled out from underneath the bed, shaking off the trepidation and breathing short, unsteady breaths with every inch she travelled. She could still feel her heart beating faster than a Yanmega's supersonic flaps, if Yanmegas sounded like war drums. She felt warm sunlight hit her head as she escaped the cover of the bed, what had felt like an infinitely long journey, and the rest of her body followed. She stood up and faced Rei, who stood a good head and shoulders above her.

"I must say, I'm surprised you managed to find your way here- without your other friends too," started Rei conversationally, sounding like a suspicious parent, prying, searching. "What do you think? Wonderful location, wouldn't you say? Nice beaches, thick, lush forest, and even that barrier to keep out intruders. How did you get through that anyways? Don't try and keep quiet- I could force the answers out of I wanted to."

"I flew in," she answered, almost inaudible, voice quaking. She could see the threat in his eyes, hear it in his tone, that it was over for her. She would never get out of here, never save Ruby, never see him again. Ruby... she thought, feeling a hot tear at the corner of her eye. I'm so sorry... I tried my best ta protect ya, save ya, but I-

"Interesting... The Pokemon you uses must be absolutely exhausted, far beyond the point of battling. Pilo, was it? Your Tropius." Sapphire's eyes widened in shock, and she heard Rei snicker.

"What did you do to Pilo?" she demanded, voice loud and clear.

"Nothing. He's sleeping soundly on the other end of the island. But it's good to know you can say more than incoherent whispers. Why are you so afraid of me? You don't need to be," he said, walking around her, his black cloak brushing against her legs. She could see his malicious smile without opening her eyes. "Do you think I'm going to kill you? Hurt Ruby? Are you curious about what I've done to him? Don't be shy- ask away, Sapphire."

It was a lure, a trap so he could hurt her more, so he could prey on her terror, her fear. Rei was like his Gengar- she was pretty sure the ghost type thrived on fear as well. But she couldn't resist falling for the obvious ploy- she needed to know, no matter what it was. Her hungry curiosity won over. "What?"

He smiled, but it was more with his eyes than his mouth and teeth, in the cold glint of steel and silver as opposed to the thin curved line of his lips. "Do you see this orb?" He held out the Amethyst orb so close that Sapphire could lick it if she so desired (but of course she didn't). "Of course you do, you're not blind," he answered for her, drawing it back towards himself almost protectively, reminding Sapphire of the guilt and sorrow that had pulsated from him minutes ago. "Do you know how it was made?"

"You almost killed him," she accused, azure eyes shadowed, voice sharp and painful. The memories struck her vividly, the blood, oh the blood, everywhere, Ruby's blood. Spilled on the ground, painted onto the cave floor in an intricate circular pattern, splattered onto Rei's hands, soaked into Ruby's shirt, running down his arms in thin, streaming rivulets... So much blood, so much blood. She could see it so clearly she felt like she could smell the coppery, salty tang of it, taste it on her tongue... "There was so much blood. I thought he was dead." Her voice was quavering, completely unsteady, and she felt like she was about to collapse.

Rei raised an eyebrow, and looked to his side, glaring. "Gengar... Quit it. You'll knock her unconscious." The ghost Pokemon's frown reappeared first, followed by shockingly red eyes and finally its purple body. It looked like a naughty child who'd suddenly been in time out and wanted to argue about it. Rei looked back at Sapphire almost apologetically. "My Gengar has a tendency to stir up fear in people. It's mastered Nightmare so well that its victims don't even need to be asleep to be frightened to their wit's end. You should be applauded for holding out so well," he praised her in a silky, honey voice. "Now, where were we?"

The moment Rei had given his Gengar the glare, Sapphire felt a huge weight lifted off of her chest, and the terrifying visions disappeared. Her fear remained though- just not as potent as before. "You almost killed Ruby."

Rei looked amused, as if about to laugh. "But he's not dead, is he? By the way..." he started, leaning in startlingly close. "You sound like you saw what happened. Did you? Don't lie. I believe Gengar's demonstrated a potential consequence- though I'm sure he can do better."

"Kyogre showed me," she admitted, trying to match his intense gaze, but forced to look away, unable to match its power. "I watched through its eyes."

"So it's true that those two can communicate with their former controllers. It must think highly of you to have let you seen through its eyes." He paused, grabbing her chin and making her focus her sideward gaze at him once more. "I'm trying to talk to you. Do not be so rude." His voice was steady, tempered, calm, but had an edge of impatience and anger behind it.

"What did you do to Ruby?" Rei's sudden aggressiveness had fired her own. Some of her lost courage had returned after Gengar had stopped its Nightmare, and she was angry, enraged, and not afraid to show it. "Why does he look so dead? What did you do to him? His eyes- they're so blank, he doesn't even look like Ruby anymore. What did you do to him? Tell me!"

"I wiped his memory a second time," replied Rei with a cruel smirk. "It only took a few minutes seeing what he could remember was very little. My Gengar is quite talented in that aspect as well. As for why his eyes are so blank..." He smiled. "Perhaps you can try and figure that out for yourself. I can't tell you everything, can I?"

"Bu-"

"Your choices are to leave unharmed, or let me explain and die." His voice was suddenly cold, icy. "I'm letting you go back to your other friends- isn't that almost too merciful of me? They must be scared for you- might as well give you back. None of you can do anything to stop me anyways."

"Then why not tell me?" she challenged, bracing herself for an attack. "If we're no threat to your brilliant plans?"

"Sometimes it's more fun that way," he answered with a grin, snapping his fingers. "Goodbye, Sapphire. I hope you keep this game entertaining for me."

Rei and his Gengar melted into their shadows and disappeared. Sapphire could easily guess that Ruby was being controlled, and that was the reasoning behind the blank stare. Archie and Maxie had turned crazy under control of the two legendary beasts, but that was because they were commanded too. Sapphire thought of a robot. It needed to be programmed before it could do anything- Rei was planning on using his game piece. He was still developing the winning program, the move that would him victory, and it would be through Ruby. Perhaps the boy she loved would end up being just as destroyed as Maxie and Archie had been. It would make the game 'fun', wouldn't it, for Rei?

It was then that she looked around, tapped on the glass windows, suddenly realizing that they were too hard to shatter and that there were no doors to leave from. She was trapped here in the tower.

*********  
>"Emerald!" Crystal screamed, her voice high and panicked as the small boy was yanked upwards by Rayquaza's sharp black claws, looking even tinier than usually, completely vulnerable.<p>

Emerald was paralyzed with terror, unnaturally still the giant dragon's grasp, almost unable to comprehend what was happening. His green eyes seemed very, very pale, and very scared. One second, he had been on the ground, perfectly safe. Now he was dangling above the tower in the hands of perhaps the most fearsome of Hoenn's trio of legendaries, at the mercy of an extremely dangerous and powerful legendary Pokemon.

Rayquaza didn't even bother to look at the boy it had grabbed, for a moment it seemed as if it were about to toss Emerald aside, throwing him fifty floors down onto either hard rock or into a depthless ocean. Luckily, it instead eyed the remaining Pokedex members with interest, its fanged jaws forming what looked like a smile- though that could have just been its normal expression. The golden orbs of its eyes were trained on the trainer's Pokemon, glittering with amusement as if it couldn't believe such feeble creatures would or could challenge its might.

It roared ferociously, the very strength of the Hyper Voice blowing them all back a good couple of feet, slamming Silver into the wall, causing Red to almost stumble over, saved from falling over by Green, whose balance far surpassed his friend's. Crystal's face was distraught as she was forced backwards, trying to take unsteady steps against the blast of air and sound.

The moment the roar had ended, Crystal charged forward in an attempt to save the boy she regarded as a little brother. "Emerald, I'm coming!" she cried, grabbing a Pokeball from her pocket, taking a glance to check if it was the right one, about to release it when Silver, recovered from his unfortunate knockback, swiftly pulled her back, red hair whipping in a slash of displaced air.

"Watch out!" he cried, barely managing to catch the end of her lab coat, stopping her from attempting to escape his grip, pulling her back to safety. She resisted for a second, before gasping as she realized how close she had just been to serious injury- maybe even death.

The spot where she had been standing was suddenly smashed by a whip of Rayquaza's snake-like body, sending rubble flying through the air. The Pokedex holders all covered their faces from the large chunks of debris, jumping back to avoid another random lash of Rayquaza's tail as it uncoiled, smashing apart what was left of the ceiling to reveal its full size, the sky in which it flew no longer blocked by ancient stone. Its bright white teeth glinted in the cold sunlight, its long green, pattern-covered body constantly shifted side to side, like an Arbok, and its yellow eyes staring at them with the fire of a dying Outrage. But Red could see that the danger was not over yet.

"Brace yourselves everybody! It's about to attack!" He was on the balls of his feet, ready to run in any which direction, knowing there was not enough time to seek shelter behind a large boulder or whatever, and that whatever cover he found would likely be destroyed. He watched as white fire built up in the back of the dragon's throat, glowing red and orange as it charged to a giant energy-infused sphere, prepared to fire at the Pokedex Holders. Red swallowed building fear- the last Pokemon this powerful he faced had been Mewtwo. But at least Mewtwo was on his side. Rayquaza sought to destroy them.

With another roar, it let out a massive beam of energy from its cavernous mouth, burning the edges of Red's clothes as he dodged the attack. He knew the only reason he hadn't been burnt to a pile of ashes, a useless burnt crisp, was because of Outrage's unfortunate side effect of slight confusion. He also knew that now was the time to attack, in the recharge period of Hyper Beam.

"Aero, Pika!" he called as he commanded the two Pokemon into battle, eyes lighting up with scarlet fire, the flames leaping with excitement at the prospect of an exciting, dangerous fight. His blood coursed with adrenaline, sure he was scared, scared of losing, of dying, but it only added to the excitement. He lived for this feeling. "Aero, use Stone Edge, Pika, Thunderbolt!"

Aero and Pika were tiny compared to the size of the monstrous legendary, even Aero barely the size of Rayquaza's massive head. Carrying Pika on its purple back, the two Pokemon flew up to Rayquaza's arm, where Emerald was now alternating struggles with screams for help, trying to grab his Pokeballs from his belt, but failing due to Rayquaza's claws keeping him from reaching them. Aero's wings began to shine with strange white light, hardening to the strength of rock as smashed into Rayquaza, managing to push it back a few dozen feet with the sheer force of the attack. Pika followed suit with the same brutality, drawing electricity from the air around it and launching it all in a vicious bolt of lightning, encompassing the legendary's entire body. It let out a shriek, twisting, but not with the same flexibility as before. It had been paralyzed.

Emerald gasped as he felt the electricity hit him, freezing as the static rendered him rigid as a rock. His hair stood on end, not that it hadn't already done so with fear. He looked downwards, eyes pleading for him to be saved. His plea was answered.

Joining the battle was Green, who released his own two Pokemon to do battle against the third of Hoenn's weather trio, having made a quick analysis of Rayquaza's battle style and developing a strategy around it- abusing the consequences of its two most powerful attacks, Outrage and Hyper Beam, just like Red.

"Charizard, Scizor, help free Emerald!" screamed Green, jumping besides Red, the two boys giving each other a smile as they turned to face the legendary, full of confidence and renewed strength. "Scizor, use False Swipe! Charizard, catch Emerald and then follow up with Flamethrower!"

The metallic red bug flew up so quickly that it was a blur, sunlight shining off its armor and casting glares in every direction. With one quick swipe of its marked pincers, it skillfully knocked aside Rayquaza's claws from Emerald, forcing the dragon to release its victim with a high-pitched roar of pain. The boy fell as the legendary attempted to catch Scizor as it whirled through the air, distracting the dragon like an annoying fly, Emerald landing safely with a thump into Charizard's ready arms.

Emerald shielded his head and closed his eyes as a stream of fire erupted from the fire lizard's throat, the light blinding him and causing spots to appear in his vision. He smelled hair burning, and guessed that the fire type had managed to singe the tips of his bright blond hair. Not that it mattered. He was quite happy to be alive. He was well aware that Rayquaza could have easily shattered his bones, crushed his body, and shuddered. Burnt hair was quite preferable.

As soon as the Flamethrower attack was finished, Charizard swooped down low towards the trainers below, dropping Emerald alongside his fellow Dex Holders before returning to join the battle against Rayquaza, flying up higher even faster, no longer weighted down by its light burden.

Crystal hugged Emerald when he landed on the ground, letting out tears as her pent-up worry spilled out. "I'm glad you're okay," she whispered into his ear before letting go, her blue eyes instantly clearing of anxiety, transforming into the same blaze as Red's. She was ready to capture the Sky High Pokemon no matter what it took. She clenched her fists- this was about to be her greatest challenge yet.

She detached a Pokeball from her belt and kicked it upwards towards Rayquaza, managing to clonk the legendary in the eye, which caused it to stop writhing for a moment, pausing to blink away the sudden hit, and releasing Parasee in the same second. The bug Pokemon perched upon Rayquaza's head, easily releasing the necessary spores to put the green dragon to slumber.  
>Rayquaza attempted to shake off its sudden drowsiness, lashing out at random and knocking the Parasect off of its head. Its ridged tail hit the floor they were standing on with such force that it essentially exploded; leaving only a few square feet of what had once been a spacious floor.<p>

"Ah!" gasped Red, his brain processing the fact that was no longer solid ground beneath him with panic. His arms and legs flailed for a split second, trying to find a hold on the now missing rubble. "Green!"

His friend and rival managed to catch him barely in time, their fingers tightly interlocked as Green tried to pull Red up, struggling, as he wasn't on very stable ground himself.

"Need help, Green-senpai?" asked Silver, and suddenly, Red was weightless, propelled upwards by Silver's Honchkrow. "I think our fight's over- Crystal's choosing the capturing ball." He motioned behind him, where a spread of Pokeballs were laid out on the ground, each different from the one beside it.

Silver was right- Rayquaza's struggles against sleep were becoming weaker and weaker, the once wide awake golden eyes closing over with green lids, each blink keeping its eyes closed longer than the one before. It no longer had the energy to shake off its drowsiness, and the legendary dragon closed its eyes, beginning to fall.

Crystal made her decision lightning fast- her reaction time was geared towards capture. This was her comfort zone, her skill, her specialty. She'd aim for the center of Rayquaza's head- right between its eyes. That's where the energy was gathered- she could feel it. No time for hesitation, no time left at all. The great dragon was hurtling down, and it'd crush them unless she kicked now.

"Take this!" she yelled, feeling all her experiences, training, practice boiling down to this one moment, swinging her leg, feeling the moment of contact between her foot and the Pokeball, the connection that would make or break the capture. She held her breath as it soared upwards, hearing the sound of whooshing air, a critical capture, for a second unsure if she aimed right.

She hit perfectly on target, not even a centimeter off, the Friend Ball opening and encasing Rayquaza with a stream of red, drawing it into the small capsule. She held her breath as the Pokeball began to shake.

Once. They all stared, unable to move, frozen in anticipation.

Twice. Still frozen, like ice, the only sound the ball shaking on the stone, making a nerve-wracking crunch against the rubble.

Three times. Crystal closed her eyes and wished as hard as she could, whispering, hoping she wouldn't see the flashing red of a failed capture.

Then it was still.

She blinked her eyes open, her mouth twisting into a joyful smile as she walked forwards to retrieve the kicked Friend Ball, looking through the translucent top to see Rayquaza wearing what was most definitely a smile. She had done it. She felt tears at the edge of her sparkling blue eyes. She really did it. She could breathe again.

"Congrats Crys!" cheered Emerald, voice loud and jubilant.

"Yeah, way to go!" echoed Red, breaking out into a wide smile.

Silver and Green said nothing, just nodding in approval, but Crystal saw the admiration and respect in their eyes. She knew they were just as happy inside- they just weren't the type to emote visibly.

"Thank you," she whispered, looking back at Rayquaza, unable to suppress the laughter bubbling up in her throat. "I did it."

***A happy ending-ish thing? Imposiburu! :V XD Well, well, looks like I took it easy on you guys. :3 (AKA couldn't think of another bs angsty plotline that goes on forever. :X JK.) Review Reply Time! :D**

**blazelight790: Ruby? Okay? :3 Who do you take me for? XD As for Emerald controlling Rayquaza (derp, didn't even think of that. :V That's a nice idea... I'll see how it works out.) I'd love to have someone draw some fanart for this. XD (I should draw my own. But I'm too busy drawing for The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare because the series is so fricking AMAZING.) Unfortunately, the gallery remains empty. *hint* *hint* I'll update two times a week once I'm finished with the story. ;)**

**mystic: Hi! :D Hope the battle with Rayquaza was epic enough. *derp* I've always imagined all the legendaries a lot bigger and stronger than they're depicted in-game or in-anime... (because they're like- tiny in the anime, and there's multiples of each. Me: WTF? They're called _legendary_ for a stinking reason! Like Groudon is only 11ft tall. Seriously? That's not big enough to make a continent. I like the manga versions. With Maxie and Archie standing on their heads and still looking tiny. Same with Norman and Ruby on Rayquaza. They stand on its head. Now _that_ makes sense to me. (I don't even know what or why I just ranted. :X)**

**spiritgurl21: I know right? :/ Just when people wanted more Emerald, I have him kidnapped by a giant dragon... XD Here's your next chappie! :3 **

**FighterGirl14: Thank you! :D Oh, it's just getting started. :3 (I think.) We still have the final battle to go, you know! **

**Kimiko Heroux: It ain't fun without a cliffie. (or two. :V) The wait is over though! :D**

**Light Sakura: READ CITY OF FALLEN ANGELS NOW. AND THEN READ CITY OF LOST SOULS. AND THEN GO READ THE INFERNAL DEVICES BECAUSE CASSANDRA CLARE IS JUST THAT AMAZING. *cough* *cough* Sorry, I got caught up in my obsessive MI/ID obsession there. :X You know why Emerald was taken by Rayquaza? (I just had that happen because he annoyed the giant green dragon since he was the closest (and smallest) to grab. :X No real reason actually. XD) **

**Reviews? :3 Next week, next chapter! :D See you all there!***


	16. Chapter 16

***Did you miss me? :3 XD I'm back, with another chapter of Memories Lost. ^^ Aren't you glad? Last chapter, we hit fifty reviews, people! That's right, _50!_ (and we got to 52!) That calls for a celebration. XD What should I do... I know. :3 I'll make a little review poll at the end.***

Chapter 16

Sapphire knew there had to be a way out. Rei wanted a challenge-why else would he leave her alive? He wanted her to break out of the seemingly inpenetrable tower, to follow him, to attempt to stop him. He wanted to crush her in a brilliant showdown of strength- it was glaringly obvious. That was his personality.

And... she had to do it. For herself, her pride, her need to fight, to save the world from Rei. For Ruby... Her heart felt broken, its beats disjointed, though Sapphire knew there was no real physical problem. It was like there was a hole, a wide gaping hole that threatened to encompass her, fill her with this haunting, chilling emptiness, this depthless sorrow.

She had thought Ruby was still like he had been when she had last seen him. Shy, curious, a little scared off all the commotion around him, clueless, but trusting. Trusting of her. At least knowing that she cared, that she meant no harm, that she was there to protect him, help him. She saw it in his eyes.

This Ruby, this one. She stifled a sob. How could anyone do this? To turn a person into their living puppet, an empty, mindless machine, an obeying, loyal slave?  
>The Ruby she loved- he wasn't there anymore.<p>

She could easily see Rei twisting the boy she loved into a tool of evil, a weapon to destroy them. He knew as well as her that they wouldn't harm Ruby, even if he was under Rei's command. He was their friend, brother, family, her one and only love. Sapphire, at least, knew she'd let Ruby himself kill her before she'd harm a single hair on his head. What a perfect piece for Rei's sick and twisted game.

Don't cry, Sapphire, she told herself, wiping away the flowing tears. You have to do something. Ruby can't be saved if you stay in this room and cry your heart out.

"Toro!" she cried, letting out her trusty fire-type starter. The Blaziken narrowed its eyes- it already knew what to do.

Its pale yellow and scarlet feathered leg kicked out at the window with ferocious strength and speed, even blazing with red-hot fire. Sapphire expected the window to burst into a thousand small pieces, a million tiny shards of shattered glass, blasted apart from the heat and impact. Instead, it stayed an inpenetrable wall, not even cracked from the powerful kick. However, she noted, it shimmered. Like... she paused, thinking. She knew what that was.

"Rei must have put up Light Screens and Reflects to reinforce the glass! Powerful ones too," she murmured, a small smile coming to her face, determination and confidence returning to her jewel blue eyes. "I wonder if he realized I'd figure out the trick so quickly?" Energy restored, she imitated the Pokemon move as she commanded, "Toro, use Brick Break!"

Almost mirroring its trainer, Toro smashed the dual screens in one swift chop, breaking through all the Reflects and Light Screens, turning them into sparkling showers of broken light. With a quick follow-up kick, the window exploded outwards, the sound of breaking glass like a beautiful song to Sapphire's ears. It was the sound of new hope.

She perched on the sill, looking down towards the sand, faltering for a second in her confidence. How high up was she again? She quickly shook away the doubts. If she got up, she could easily get down. "Let's jump, Toro!"

She and her loyal Blaziken leaped simultaneously, free falling for what felt like several minutes. Sapphire felt the air rushing up around her face, buffeting her, whipping her hair into a giant mess that Ruby would have given her a long scolding for if he hadn't been caught up in this giant mess.

I'll do anything to get that Ruby back, she resolved, landing like a cat, gracefully, almost with elegance, the sand around her puffing up in a transulucent cream colored cloud of dust. She remembered that Ruby, her fashion-obsessed, strange, funny, obnoxious, rude, detestable (yet so lovable), kind, thoughtful Ruby. Anything!

"Pilo!" she called loudly, hearing bird Pokemon in the forest caw and fleeing their trees at the volume of her scream. When she didn't hear the familiar roar of her Tropius, she took a deep-breath, slightly worried, and gave a high-pitched, earsplitting whistle.

Within seconds, the leafy dinosaur-like Pokemon had burst out of the surrounding foliage, eyes dull from exhaustion. However, it knew that its trainer needed him to fly- Pilo was Sapphire's only way off the island. She had left Walo and Relo in the deep, previously calm seas surrounding Lilycove.

Sapphire stroked its neck, frowning apologetically as she stared at it with sympathy. She was exhausted, and she had only been sitting on her Pokemon's back. "I'm sorry, Pilo, but we have to stop Rei." With a leap, she bounded up onto its back, carefully making sure not to pin down its wings with her legs.

It was then that she realized Rei hadn't actually said where he was planning to go. Once again, his parting words rang in her head. "Good bye, Sapphire. I hope you keep this game entertaining for me."

If I were him, not that I would ever do what he's doing, she started thinking, closing her eyes and concentrating hard. I would attack where I'd make the most impact, the most trouble, the most chaos. One of the biggest cities in Hoenn. Either Lilycove or Slateport. That would really send a message out to the world.

Visions of the cities she had visited and loved so much destroyed, flooded, incinerated by fire flooded her vision, and shuddered. She realized that this wasn't just a fight to retrieve Ruby- this was a fight to save Hoenn, no, the whole world from the threat known as Rei. With the power he possessed, he could easily take on the Dex Holders alone and win.

But there's something we've got and he doesn't. We're a team, and we're supporting each other. He has no one but himself to depend on, she told herself, trying to will herself to believe something like teamwork could give them a victory. I need to get back to everyone else.

"I've decided, Pilo, fly to Lilycove!" she commanded, grabbing the Tropius's neck tightly as it soared easily into the air despite its own natural bulk and her added weight, noting as she rose that the barrier of wind and rain and scorching sun had disappeared.

Rei brought the two powerful legendaries with him. Her heart lurched. She remembered Twinleaf Town after Kyogre had risen from the sea- flooded, houses damaged or destroyed, plant growth stunted, people and Pokemon drowned. They were far from the only place affected- several of the other cities in Hoenn were plagued by huge thunderstorms and spent month after month restoring buildings, returning to normal life. Combined with Groudon, who had sucked the earth free of moisture, of life, the two were a deadly combo without even being controlled by someone with a 'destroy' mindset.

Hoenn was about to be struck by its second major disaster in five years, she thought with dread, shivering with fear. Last time, she knew she had the power to win, and everyone was prepared. They had some warning. They had a plan.

I don't... she thought dully, sinking deep into the curve behind Pilo's long neck, completely unfocused at the endless sky and sea surrounding her. No plan, no strategy, no nothing. What are we supposed to do?

She felt drowsy, the result of having been awake for hours under unimaginable stress. Guilt at the thought of resting when her tired Pokemon, Pilo, wasn't able to made her resist the black wave of sleep, furiously trying to keep her eyes open. It was simply a battle she couldn't win.

She awoke a few hours later to the scent of acrid smoke carried on the whipping winds of a thunderstorm. A small raindrop hit her on the shoulder, only a drizzle, which soon multiplied to a downpour. It didn't take her long to snap completely out of her tired stupor, and she looked wildly around her.

Below her was the raging sea, the waves clashing with one another, furiously climbing higher and higher. Like a tsunami, without even an earthquake. Kyogre, she thought dully. Rei was already here- of course he was. His Salamence was at least twice as fast as Pilo, and less tired as well.

Turning, she saw the shore, the burning sun, the same burning light that had set a drought to half of Hoenn so long ago. Groudon had begun its rampage. The beaches were lit ablaze, umbrellas and beach chairs, and even... people. She shook her head, clearing her mind of the cruelty unfolding in front of her mind. She couldn't save them. She could only do one thing.

Rei... Our battle begins now!

"The weather seemed to appear very strange around here," said Blue, pointing to a part of the map where it had apparently been sunny and thunderstorming at the same time an hour ago. "The island's barely in reach of Hoenn region though- it's right between here and Johto."

"Oy, he better not get it in his head to attack my home!" shouted an enraged Gold, hiding his fear of having Rei so close to his region. His region. Knowing what he could do to a friend, no, a family member's region was bad enough. "Otherwise, he'll have to go through me!"

"It's good that we found it so quick," said Yellow, positive as always, though her bright brown eyes betrayed her fear. Not only was the prospect of the upcoming fight daunting, but right now, Red was fighting Rayquaza, and the thought of him getting hurt made her cringe. What if he was-? She wouldn't think that. She had to remain positive.

She wasn't as good as battling as everyone else. It seemed to flow naturally out of them, like she was able to heal and read the minds of Pokemon. She wasn't a trainer- she was a healer and the one who cheered everyone else up when times were down. When the moment arose, she could fight, but for now, she did what she did best. Keeping smiles on everyone's faces.

"It'd take us forever to get there though- between us three, we only have three flying Pokemon. Well, four if you count Blasty. But none of them are notably fast or great at endurance," Blue pointed out, disappointed at her results. She knew where the enemy was, but... what did that do her? They should have all went to find Rayquaza and catch it.

I'm the one who thought this would be a good idea, she thought with a sigh. After all, Silver was the one who remembered at about Rayquaxa first. She remembered his excitement, well, as excited as Silver would allow himself to be, as he pointed out their only chance. The legendary dragon, Rayquaza!

"Is it all going well for you guys?" asked a scientist, adjusting his glasses as he watched the Pokedex holders. "Have you found what you're looking for?"

"Yes," said Blue, rising from her seat, putting a troublesome lock of brown hair behind her ears. "We're done- you can have your computer back."

"Thanks," the man answered, returning to his work as Blue motioned for Gold and Yellow to leave with her.

"That's it? Seriously?" asked Gold in disbelief. "We spent about ten minutes in there!" His golden eyes were wide and questioning, filled with impatience. "I wanted more excitement! I bet Silver and Crys are doing way cooler things!"

"Stop treating this like it's some sort of game, Gold!" snapped Blue, finally weary of the rude, obnoxious boy's endless snarky comments. "It's not. Sapphire and Ruby are in danger, and we are too. You think Silver and Crystal went over to find Rayquaza to have fun?"

"That's not what I meant!" retracted Gold, taking a step back, holding his hands up in the universal "chill out for a second" gesture. "I'm as worried as you are! I just wanted to be doing something important! My best friends are out on the frontlines! And what am I doing? Nothing."

"I thought we could do more, okay?" replied Blue, pushing the exit door open with much more force than necessary. It slammed into the wall with a hard thud. "And Silver made the groups, not me!"

Gold was about to open his mouth to reply, but Yellow intervened. Time to play yet another role. The peacemaker.

"What good is it if we fight among ourselves?" she asked, looking almost a little ridiculous with her little angry, commanding expression, because she still looked like she was only a little kid at age 16. "We know where his hideout is- if we need to, we could attack there, couldn't we? No information gained is useless!"

The fighting pair was silent for a couple seconds, and the only sounds were the sea breeze, smelling of salt and water, brushing among the trees, and the ocean itself, with its calm, constant waves, almost soothing to the ear. Blue resisted the growing urge to hit Blue and looked out towards the sky, where she saw what looked a distant bird Pokemon flying closer and closer to Mossdeep. At first she thought it was a Wingull, but it was too big to be one. And it was far, far out in the sea.

If only Sapphire were here, she thought despairingly, wondering why the hell she'd decided to leave her binoculars in Kanto. She would be able to tell us what that is.

"Whatcha looking at?" asked Gold warily, curious but cautious. "I don't see anything!"

"That thing. I don't think it's a Wingull... Do you think it might be..." A Salamence? she finished silently. It better not be. We're not ready yet!

"It might," answered Gold curtly, filling in the blank as well. He tensed, piercing metallic yellow eyes fixed on the flying figure like a hawk.

"I'm not sure... It could just be nerves," said Yellow optimistically, swallowing down her panic. If Rei was coming already, there was only the three of them to stop his rampage.

Calm down, her Pokemon thought encouragingly, sending soothing waves of relaxation through her body. We will fight as hard as we possibly can!

"I'm calling Silver, just in case," said Blue, pulling out her Pokegear and speed dialing the boy. "Better safe than sorry."

"Good idea," replied Gold, sounding as if the argument moments before had never happened. It was amazing what fear and anticipation could do to people.

"Silver, I think Rei's already here," said Blue without introduction, looking up, where it was now obvious that the flying Pokemon was a Salamence. "We're going to head back to the mainland now. Have you captured Rayquaza yet?" A pause. "You have, good. Head back to Lilycove immediately. Meet you there." Unless Rei sees us and decides he's finally sick of us...

"Gold, I'm going to tie Jiggly to Mantaro," she said to the spiky-haired boy. "There's not enough room for two, right?"

"Mantaro can fly down on the ocean, and Yellow's Pi-chan can fly low too. If Rei turns around or looks down, we're not going to catch his eye. A giant flying pink puff? Well..." Gold trailed off, sighing. "That's pretty hard to ignore."

"So what should I do?" she asked. "Can I ride on top of Mantaro?"

"You can try. Emerald's Mantine is bigger, so it can carry a lot of weight, but Mantaro is pretty small. He might not be able to fly all that way, and end up..." Gold paused, inspiration brightening up his sharp yellow eyes. "That's it! Get your Turtly to Surf you over!"

"That's not fast enough!" she protested, feeling the urgent press of time against them.

"You don't have enough water to fly, but how about to propel yourself? Like, he could be a motorboat or something!" said Gold excitedly. "We don't have another way, Blue. Do you want to Hoenn or not?"

She nodded, running down to the beach without a further word. Yellow and Gold chased after her.

"B-Blue! Wait up!" cried Yellow, trying her best to catch up with her short legs, holding her hat to her head as the wind threatened to blow it away.

"Turtly, Hydro Cannon powered Surf!" said Blue, releasing her Blastoise onto the water, and jumping onto its large brown shell. It adjusted its cannons, turning them so they almost made it look as if the Blastoise were wearing a jetpack. "Full speed ahead!"

"Pi-chan!"

"Mantaro!"

Gold and Yellow were doing their best to catch up, but Gold been quite accurate when he said 'motorboat.' Blue and her starter shot off like some sort of rocket, blasting a mist of water all over them.

Since we're on the ocean, there's infinite water to power Turtly's Surf! thought Blue, confident that she could keep pace with the Salamence overhead. But what am I going to do when I catch up to him? Give him a time out?

Turtly then flung what felt like a bucketful of water onto her face, which Blue presumed to mean, Cool down. Calm down.

There was only one option really, and that was to fight when they reached shore, maybe even before that. It'd probably only be a few more minutes. Mossdeep was pretty close to Lilycove. She closed her azure eyes, taking a deep breath of fresh ocean air. Getting knocked off Turtly by a sudden violent, raging wave, hearing Gold and Yellow scream her name as she landed in the raging sea, the clouds above her turning dark. Rain poured torrentially, and she felt as if she were going to drown.

There was a dark shape with glowing red lines spread across its giant body, luminous yellow eyes like beacons in the sudden dark. It roared before diving into the water and Blue screamed a silent scream as the ocean closed around her.

Save me, she thought, unable to feel out Turtly, salt stinging her eyes like fire. The cold seeped down to her bone, her clothes wetly hanging to her skin, weighting her down. Save me, anyone.

***Okay, here are the options. There's two.**

**a. A Q&A with Rei (there's probably not many spoilers for this. ^^ If there are, I'll put in a warning or something. Ask him whatever you want! Just warning you- it's not my fault if you get killed. :3 XD)**

**b. Free Spoiler (you must have an account because I will be PMing you the answer to your question. But, I'm so much into this as the Q&A because spoilers just kind of ruin it sometimes, you know?)**

**But it's your choice! Next chapter, I'll announce which one we're gonna do. ;)**

**Review Reply Time!**

**Mystic: I think you're doing both. :3 Maybe. XD I over-think things a lot too. AKA sits in room for 6 hours contemplating the 50,000 complicated reasons a character did something instead of just accepting the one simple reason. **

**Light-Sakura: I LOVE CASSANDRA CLARE'S WORKS. DRACO TRILOGY, THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS, THE INFERNAL DEVICES, EVERYTHING. The sixth book to MI doesn't come out until MARCH of STINKING 2014! I'm so pissed! D: That's such a long wait for such a good book! ARgh! But you should read it anyways. YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED. Any company that doesn't appreciate Ruby's beauty doesn't deserve him. :3 He's ours! XD I wish they'd release more chapters of Platinum and release HG/SS though... **

**blazelight790: I have maniacal smiles on my face when I draw a character smiling maniacally. :X It's really weird- I take on the expression and pose of what I draw. XD (random fact of the day.) Ruby? Okay? *laughs* You have a lot to learn, my friend. :3 **

**: Let me guess. You're a _Will_ fan, aren't you? Because I'm Team Jem, and I freaking loved the ending of Clockwork Prince. :3 Oh, and it's fine if you call me Aeyra-chan. ^^ (though if you're using 'chan', then just call me 'Aya-chan.' A lot of people do.) I write this story at approximately 11PM-2AM in the morning. :X That's why sometimes there are _really_ weird mistakes in it. That, and auto-correct on the iTouch. I type in Swampert and it gives me some random word that starts with 's'. It's pretty annoying.**

**Kimiko Heroux: My jealousy meter is jumping off the scale. I STILL HAVE MORE THAN TWO WEEKS OF SCHOOL LEFT! I HAVE THREE! Looks like Rei better be scared. XD (though you might want to watch out for that Gallade of his- it has very sharp mental blades. :X) Sapphire doesn't need someone to save her. SHE'S AWESOME ENOUGH TO SAVE HERSELF. XD **

**Don't remember to vote, people! Just tell me Q&A or Spoilers! (for spoilers, you need a account. For Q&A, I'll either write it or draw it (probably a mixture of both) and post it on here and dA. ^^ See you next week!***


	17. Chapter 17

***Hello, I'm back! :D Did you miss me? :3 Looks like the results are in- it's going to be spoilers. D: (I kind of wanted to draw a Q&A- I'll recompensate by drawing myself a cover. :3 got an image manager! ;) ) I'll be putting guidelines for spoilers at the end. As to the person who asked a question to Rei, which, by the way, was 'You know that you own that same Salamance that Ruby and Sapphire encountered right? How did you get that SAME Salamance?' **

**Rei: "Well, I've had it since it was a Bagon. I did live close enough to Meteor Falls to catch one, you know. The reason why it attacked those two is because it was kind of having, well, a bad day." Rei laughs. "It was its first day as a Salamence, and to celebrate, I decided to give it some extra... training. It ran away, but I managed to find it later." He shrugs. "I was mad at first, but now, I guess I don't really care anymore. At least it gives it some personal motivation."**

**Aeyra: "I wish I had some more questions to ask you."**

**Rei: "I wish I could kill off the Dex Holders already."**

**Aeyra: "Tough luck. XD"**

**Rei: *death glare***

**Aeyra: *coughs* Well, onto the story then. If you do happen to have a question for Rei, please feel free to leave at the end of the chapter! I'm sure he won't mind. Well, maybe he'll burn you to bits with his Salamence and another Pokemon, but chances are slim as long as I've got control over him. ;)***

Chapter 17

"Wow..." said Ruby as Kyogre was released, witnessing the legendary's glory with wide, excited eyes, empty, blank eyes. Eyes that looked like they belonged to the dead more than the living. "Amazing, master."

"Isn't it?" Rei stared below, where the ocean had already begun to rage, waves climbing high in the air, dragging their unfortunate victims to unsurvivable depths. He had no mercy, needed none. He was king. The world needed to feel his power. "This is the power of a king! My power! Kyogre, drown everything!"

The Amethyst Orb shined a dark shade of deep blue violet, and Kyogre let out a mighty roar, diving into the dark murky waters as the storm it had formed began their ferocious rampage. Where it had sunk, the ripples left behind were forming waves, giant, unstoppable waves, and Rei grinned. If he was lucky, perhaps he had killed off a few of those troublesome, stupid Dex holders.

Other than the one by my side, they are useless to me. Except to make this game more interesting, he thought, glancing back at Ruby, who seemed only half aware that he was soaking wet from the rain and was still staring at the water as if he were hypnotized. Progress had been a little slower than he expected. At least the boy was responsive now. But he was still so obviously a puppet. If he were to launch his plan, he'd have to transform the boy into at least a semblance of his old character. Arrogant, unbending, and determined. But none of the shallowness- that was a waste of energy.

"Master, are you going to send out your other Pokemon? The one that burns everything to soot black crisps like you said?" asked Ruby eagerly, looking like a puppy. Rei smiled, through the orb, it looked as if Ruby was an avatar of Rei's own desires to see destruction- had he obtained the desire to create the destruction as well? "Groudon, right?"

"You release it." Rei tossed the Ultra Ball containing the red legendary to Ruby, who caught it skillfully. "Give it an order as well- you need to learn how to control it as well."

Ruby could do it without the orb, and Rei knew this. The experience of having controlled it once added to his now being connected by blood to the legendary gave him the same ability to command not only Groudon, but Kyogre as well. It could be useful- Rei wouldn't have to be holding the Orb all the time.

He could feel the power pulsating through it, sometimes threatening to control him. Only threatening though- he fought back hard and resisted giving in to the orb's strength. The Amethyst Orb... He sighed, closing his eyes, seeing the face of a sweet young lilac-eyed girl.

Can you see me fufilling our dream? he thought proudly, thinking of all the nights and days they had planned for the moment where they could claim their rightful throne. This was the beginning of that moment. Watch as my reign begins, Amethyst!

He had partially lied to Sapphire- he had never gotten over Amerhyst's death, but he managed to pretend he did. Managed to make himself believe it. She had been the only person in the world who understood him, supported him, stood equally next to him. The only person he trusted, respected, loved. And he'd killed her.

The memories of those flames, those raging, devouring, angry, hungry tongues of blazing fire engulfing, burning, killing her. Just like the flames about to erupt below.

"Groudon, destroy it all!" said Ruby eagerly, dead eyes coming as close to living as they got, almost glowing. "Burn everything!"

Rei observed calmly as the giant Continent Pokemon flew out in a flash of bright red light and roared, revealing large sharp teeth and a cavernous mouth, golden eyes reflecting its vicious smile. The sun burst through the storm above, beating down onto the beach like a space heater, much too hot, much too bright.

There were screams as Groudon took a step forwards, breaking beach chairs and umbrellas, the very earth beneath it cracking, causing tremors to shake the entire beach. Even the further buildings of Lilycove trembled as if in fear. Like blood, lava seeped out of the cracks, causing nearby umbrellas, chairs- anything remotely flammable- to explode with unabated fury. They exploded high up into the air, a geyser of fire, before disappearing into ash, spreading fast across the sand, turning the soft yellow dull shades of gray.

"Wow..." said Ruby, completely mesmerized, the flames reflected in his eyes as if they were mirrors. "This Pokemon... It's amazing!"

Rei looked over- noticing something. The boy's eyes were growing darker and darker by the minute. Only a few hours ago, they had been a bright red, like fresh blood. Now, they were black, like the blood Rei had left to dry on the cavern floor where he had performed the ceremony.

"Good job, Ruby," said Rei, laying a hand on the boy's shoulder. Ruby stared at him with the same eager expression he'd been wearing for the past few minutes, like a puppy trying to please in hopes of a treat. "Do you see the power I hold now? The power we together can wield? Nobody can win against me."

"Of course, master," agreed Ruby, nodding his head, closing his eyes for a moment. "There is no one else who could do such things."

Rei smiled- pleased with the praise, even if it was his own ego speaking through Ruby. Looking up at his handiwork, he felt a rush of pride, thrill. The sky was a painting of contrasts- one side was dark, gray, gloomy, raining, the relentless wind and waves slaying invaders. The other was bright, filled with reds, oranges, yellows, and light blues, shining bright enough to blind the eye, nothing to stop the hungry fire from devouring every thing in its way.

"There are a few... troublesome people, however, who may hinder my progress. Can you take care of them for me? At least bring them down to a position where I can easily rid of them," said Rei, his smirk devilish as he once again envisioned the dramatic end he had planned for the Dex Holders. Those who defied the king had to be punished.

"Of course, master!" replied Ruby, and Rei's own twisted smile appeared on the boy's face, giving him the same evil look. "Anything!"

"Good, good." Rei's silver eyes shone with anticipation. "I have completely planned out what you're going to do..."

"Blue!"

Yellow and Gold yelled loud in shock in horror, unmoving, as if they could bring their brown-haired back by the sound of their shouts alone. One second, she'd been there, smiling, Surfing on calm waters, the next, gone. Somewhere under the toiling waters, somewhere under the sea which threatened to swallow them up.

Only a moment ago, the sky had been clear, the seas calm. Now, they were stuck in the fiercest storm Yellow could recall, even worse than the one created by Lance's weather-manipulating Dragonair. The ocean was worse- waves were climbing higher and higher, growing and swelling almost exponentially, fueled by the constant onslaught of heavy rains.

And Blue was stuck in them, under the waves, being tossed around like some rag doll, unable to breathe, frigid cold, and Yellow was still staring at the spot where she had disappeared without doing a thing. But... What could she do? How on earth would she manage to save Blue?

Yellow's Pi-chan was already unable to fly, weighed down by the rainwater soaking up in its wings. It attempted to flap, but it only collapsed- luckily, onto Gold's Mantine.

"Return, Pi-chan," said Yellow, settling comfortably onto the manta ray Pokemon. She was light enough so that the Mantine barely felt a thing. Recovering from initial shock, she reached for her belt fumbling for the right Pokemon. Omasuke, where are you? she asked. Blue needs help now!

But she knew Omasuke would be utterly useless. He could hardly carry a person when the sea was perfectly fine- his shell was already too heavy for comfortable swimming. She had to try though.

This must be what it feels like, she thought miserably. Fighting Rei. If Kyogre alone can do this much- how are we supposed to win?

"Yellow, look, it's-"

Through the buffeting wind, Yellow could have sworn she heard Gold yell something, but it was incoherable. Looking over, she saw Red, Green, Emerald, Crystal and... She didn't see Silver. Where did Silver go?

"Gold!" she yelled with all her might, holding on tight to Mantaro's wings as the Mantine started to struggle against the pushing air. "Where's Silver?" She felt as if she already knew the answer- she could feel the dread in the pit of her stomach.

"He dived in!" answered Gold, voice panicky. His best friend had just jumped into waters that were dangerous just to be near. The red-haired boy had a water-type, but...

All the Pokemon have already fled to deeper parts of the ocean, Yellow thought with dread, sensing the emptiness of wild Pokemon. None of them want to be caught up in this. I'm not sure if Omasuke can handle this...

Turtly was frantically diving in and out of the water, but even the large, heavy, sturdy Blastoise was having trouble swimming through the ocean. Its eyes were frantic in its desperate search for its trainer and one of her best friends.

"Gyara!" called Red, and Yellow looked over with relief to see the boy she loved taking charge. If Red was involved, anything was possible. "Help Turtly save Blue!"

"Golduck, give her location to Gyara!" said Green, completely in sync with Red. The two were almost always on the same wavelength- when it came to Pokemon, it seemed that they could read the other's mind.

The jewel on Golduck's head glowed, and it stretched out its claw-tipped fingers in concentration, closing its eyes and releasing a faint purple light. Yellow could almost see the psychic power it was emanating, the beams of energy searching the sea with precision. Not an inch would be unaccounted for.

Gyara dived in, making a giant splash that hit Yellow in the face, leaving her shivering in the storm wind and rain. But she ignored the cold- she was much too worried about her two friends to care. What if they had already drowned? That would be far from impossible, seeing how dangerous the water below was...

"Crystal!" yelled Emerald, somehow managing to make his voice heard above the wind. "Crystal, use Rayquaza!"

"But you know it hasn't been listening!" she replied, remembering the attempted quick 'training session.' Despite the Friend Ball, it was quite disobedient, and had tried to attack them even with the added friendship. Not to mention the sudden exhaustion and pain that had flowed through her when trying to command the mighty dragon- the pain that came when controlling an uncontrollable monster like Rayquaza.

She was afraid of that pain, the pain that threatened to tear her apart and take a hold of her mind, her body. She knew that Rayquaza could fix everything, but at what cost? Shaking her head, she strengthened her resolve. Idiot! she thought. Your friends come first!

Whipping her foot back, she was about to kick the Pokeball when-

"Silver!" cried Yellow, seeing the red-haired boy's head rise above the water, riding on his Kingdra. His eyes were closed, and he even looked exhausted. One arm was wrapped around his Pokemon's neck, and the other, thought Yellow with relief, was wrapped around Blue. Unfortunately, a Blue that looked very, very... But Yellow wasn't going to think the word.

"Gyara, bring them up!" commanded Red, and the long serpent-like Pokemon bowed down its head to allow Silver to climb aboard.

The red-haired boy carefully stood up, balancing on his Kingdra's head with the utmost caution, placing Blue onto the Gyarados's head as safely and swiftly as possible. Then, he leapt up with a quick, fluid leap, one so agile and graceful it was hard to believe that the performer was half-drowned.

Gyara lifted its head slowly, making sure not upset its two passengers. Silver was frantically pressing on Blue's chest, eyes wide with fear, words drowned out by the crying wind.

It was hard to keep her eyes open in the blinding rain, but Yellow saw Blue cough up a little water, however, the other girl's eyes were still closed shut, no sign of breathing disturbing her body. She was deathly still.

Silver was frantic now, pressing harder and faster, anything to bring her back. Ignoring his exhaustion, he put all his remaining energy and more into reviving the girl he loved.

"Wake up, Blue!" he cried, fighting years out of his eyes. "Wake up, goddammit!"

"Silver!" called out Green, his voice loud and clear. "Use CPR to get her breathing again!"

"CPR?" repeated Silver, hesitant, looking back down at Blue. Her lips seemed to be turning blue- there was no time for hesitation- he had to act now.

Continuing to push at her chest, he pressed his mouth against hers, breathing precious, precious air into her depraved lungs, trying to restore the whisper of life she had left. He felt no response, but that meant nothing, he had to keep going, he knew he could bring Blue back to life.

His breathing was becoming labored now, a result of his constant pushing and fight against the sea, but he still put in everything he had, feeling the rain and wind sap away his energy as well. It may have been merely seconds before Blue coughed again and opened her eyes, but to Silver, it was an eternity. He'd never been so happy to stare into her eyes.

***Chosenshipping. FTW. XD Yup, I hate OldRivalShipping. But enough of that- onto Review Replies! (and then guidelines for spoilers.)**

**Mystic: Does Silver qualify for 'someone epicly saves her?' :3 I'm glad you liked it. You don't have to get a spoiler if you don't want it. ^^ Leave a question for Rei! And you'd have kind of needed an account to get a spoiler... ^^'**

**blazelight790: Rei answered your question. In some kind of roundabout, I don't give a **** way. XD Do you happen to have more for him? :3 Make sure you tell me if you still want what you asked as your spoiler! ^^**

**spiritgurl21: Looks like it is spoilers. :P**

**TorrentiousTwister: I found it off of Google. :X (though I bet its gone by now. I found it on the first day. XD) Thanks!**

**Kimiko Heroux: Hard choice, isn't it? XD Looks like it's spoilers though. It's not Gold unfortunately. (I wanted it to be Silver. Because Silver is badass and absolutely in love with Blue. :3) **

**Light Sakura: I WANT TO READ THE PLATINUM AND HG/SS ARCS SO BAD IT HURTS. Argh! I keep on reading little tidbits of what happens in HG/SS and it's driving me insane! Someone even said Silver goes blind! And yes, I'm much past simply a fantard for Cassandra Clare's books. I LIVE IN THE SHADOWHUNTER WORLD, THAT'S HOW FAR ALONG I AM. (oh, and in addition to fighting demons, I fight them with Pokemon. XD)**

**Spoiler Guidelines:**

**1. You get only one spoiler.**

**2. You only get a spoiler if a. You have an account (so I can PM it to you) and b. If you review this chapter obviously- how else am I supposed to know your question? XD**

**3. You can't ask for the rest of the story, obviously, but you can ask smaller things like 'When is so-and-so going to happen?' and 'Is so-and-so going to happen?' and 'What happens to [insert character] in the next chapter?' and so on so on. The reason I'm not going to spoil the rest of the story is- a. That's no fun. b. It's still in the process of being finished. XD **

**4. Have fun. XD**

**So, what are you waiting for? Review= Spoiler. Also, feel free to leave a question for Rei.**

**Rei: Leave me alone before I kill you! At least the Dex Holders are entertaining to battle...**

**Aeyra: No, it's fun. So shut up. I can kill you if I really want to. And besides, I like entertaining my reviewers. And so should you, you're _my_ OC. **

**(I have a huge desire to write Rei saying 'Avada Kedavra', but I must resist. :X) **

**See you all next week! Rei will be back too!***


	18. Chapter 18

***Did you guys like the spoilers? :P XD Remind me to do that more often... 12 reviews last chapter! :DDDD So psyched and HAPPY! XD Of course, spoilers are only for review counts that are multiples of fifty... *hint* *hint* XD Read on (and review while your at it.)!***

Chapter 18

Silver's gray eyes were clouded over with exhaustion and worry and somewhat faded panic, but not even those could disguise or hide the undeniable, almost startling joy, lighting them up with a warm metallic glint. He pulled away from Blue, only slightly though. His hands were now at her sides, almost like cage bars, protecting her from the storm, his long, red hair still brushing her pale, almost ivory skin. His lips were still slightly parted, and so were hers, and he wondered if she was aware of what he had just done. If she felt the same he did right now.

Now that she was breathing, living, he felt embarrassed, a light pink brushing his cheeks with color. It may have been CPR, necessary to save her, nothing... romantic, but it was still, it was still- a kiss. Kind of. Did it count if the other person was unconcious?

Oh arceus... What am I doing to myself! he wondered, attempting to clear his head, erase the feeling of the past few minutes, his lips on hers, how soft they were...

Silver knew it wasn't time to be worrying about trivial matters, it was something he often scolded others for, and was very confused to find himself in such a situation. He was supposed to be the calm focused one! Gold was the one who often spaced out at the thought of girls, especially after a makeout session with Crystal. Silver was the one who smacked his best friend across the face and pulled him back into reality. Luckily, Blue's voice called him back, out of his wandering thoughts, directing him back to her.

"S-Silver," murmured Blue, opening her eyes weakly, voice a whisper. Silver could only hear it because he was still so close, so close that he could feel her breath on his face, sweet, warm air that was such a comforting relief in the relentless wind that chilled him to the bone. Such a beautiful voice too, because only a minute ago, he was afraid he'd never hear it again, the special voice that belonged to Blue and Blue alone. He'd almost lost that precious sound.

"Don't talk," he replied, placing his fingers over her lips, and even through his gloves, he could feel the cold, the way her body felt like ice. His fear and worry made him freeze as well. Blue might be breathing, but she was far from safe. Hypothermia was still a very potential threat. He wasn't going to let his panic show though- despite being trapped in trivial thoughts, he had to stay calm. Now wasn't the time for hormones, he knew that. "Just relax. Go to sleep. When you wake up, you'll be safe, I promise."

I promise that you'll be safe with me. I promise that you won't be hurt, won't die. If only that could be true. If only I could promise you that, Blue.

She coughed, and the worst part was that Silver could hardly hear it, the hacking, broken noise barely audible. He knew she was coughing from the way her body shook, an irregular rhythm where her head kept flying forwards.

"Can't sleep," she whispered, slowly raising her arms to wrap them around his neck, pulling him back down towards her. He could feel her cold, wet hair on his face, her small, gasping breaths. Silver flushed, albeit unintentionally. How could he be like this, when Blue was in such a state? "It's too cold to sleep."

"Sleep," he wanted to say. He wanted to gently pry off her arms, lay them to her sides. With his fingertips, slide her eyelids closed, and wait for her to fall asleep. However, that was not what happened.

"B-Blue-" started Silver, stuttering, completely and utterly embarassed. Even in this situation, he felt strangely bashful, as if the energy he'd spent fighting to save her had rid him of the ability to keep up his usually calm, cool, emotionless demeanor. It was somehow uncomfortable, and most definitely foreign. It made him feel like someone else entirely.

Seeing Silver's utter awkwardness, and noting the dire fact that it was a very bad situation for Silver's 'secret' crush to be showing, Crustal decided to step in. Everyone had been simply gawking, holding in slight snickers at the sight of the cool, even cold, teen completely losing it, though they had their own anxious reservations over their other friend. It was as if the storm had disappeared, and it was a normal day. They were starting to take in any distraction. And that was not a good thing.

"Parasee, Spore," commanded Crystal a few meters up, her loyal Parasect appearing in a flash of red light. Silver's head jolted up, surprised, having almost forgotten that there were other people. He looked very sheepish, though very, very worried.

A single spore landed onto Blue with perfect accuracy despite the harsh hurricane-like conditions, and with a weak protest, her eyes closed once more, and her arms slowly fell down to her sides. Silver was still protectively covering her, as if to shield her from the elements. There was silence. Now that the distraction was over, they could reflect, and feel the late impact of the shock.

That close. They had been that close to losing one of them, one of the Dex Holders. Blue had probably been within seconds of drowning, and was still at the verge of dying.

Silver wished dearly that there was something he had that was not wet, that he could use as a blanket for her- his cold, wet clothes were probably far from comfortable when pressed onto her skin. But he had about as many options for another umbrella as well.

"The shore looks just as bad as it is here," noted Green, his eyes narrowing as his Charizard flew in small circles to keep afloat, its tail flame small, but still lit. The flying Pokemon, despite the hard, energy-sapping journey, still looked ready for a second flight. Green's Pokemon were well-trained in the art of endurance.

For a second, Silver didn't know what the hell Green was talking about. It looked absolutely terrific to him- the sky was clear, no clouds in sight, the sun's rays shining bright and warm across the brightly colored sand. It would be perfect. It was safe for Blue there!

Wait... Sand isn't yellow, orange, and red, he realized with a jolt.

That was what ticked him off. Not brightly colored sand- fire. The boardwalk, beach chairs, umbrellas, all burning up in searing hot tongues of fire. The fire had been more than just Groudon's doing- Silver could make out a star-shaped burn in the ground, a clear marker of Fire Blast. He remembered Emerald telling him about Rei having hinted that his Salamence's Fire Blast could burn Emerald's Sceptile into a pile of black ash- and Silver believed it. He'd never seen a more powerful remaint of a fire-type move.

"But it's safer there then here- the fire is only on the beach right now. And we'd be out of this storm too." It's safer for Blue there than it is here, Silver thought. But what could the temperature change do to her?

"We'll find someplace safe for Blue, don't worry," said Yellow, her exhausted, only half-happy smile painted onto her face, forced. Silver had forgotten she was sitting beside him. "The rest of us will go and fight Rei- you want to take care of Blue, right? And it's not safe to leave her alone anyways."

Silver nodded. Even though he was furious with Rei for being responsible for this- for everything, Blue was his first priority. He would do anything his power to save her, even I'd it meant skipping out on the big battle.

"Hide in the rocks," said Gold, his rain and wind-shielding goggles obscuring much of his face. Silver perked over the edge of Mantaro's wing to see Gold's finger pointed towards a large stony outlook, where the shade shielded the ground from the fiery sun, and the fierce waves not reaching a majority of the rocky formation. "Hide there- we'll make sure Rei doesn't get to you."

"Thank you- but how do I make sure she doesn't- doesn't," Silver's voice broke, unable to complete his sentence. He wasn't going to even imagine the possibility. Coming close to it once was more than enough for him.

"I'll stay with you too," offered Yellow, brown eyes shining with concern. "I've been looking into medicine, and maybe I could try to heal her. Just a little bit."

I thought Yellow could only heal Pokemon? thought Silver, looking at the little blond girl with new interest. But it was clear from her expression that it would only be an experiment, she'd never really tried before- however, there was no better option.

"Thank you, Yellow," said Silver in a tone thick with gratitude.

They were only a little way out from the shore now, and the waves, though still much more violent and large than normal, were far less dangerous than they had been farther out. The rain, the battering, chilling rain had also ceased, disappearing into a baking sun. Despite feeling half-frozen, Silver still felt hot- much too hot.

We're going to need that shade... he thought glumly, almost feeling sweat underneath his gloves already, either that, or the trapped rainwater that had somehow gotten in.

"Make sure she comes out safe- got that, Silver?" said Gold, somehow managing to make the question sound like a lighthearted challenge despite the situation. "That's your fight."

"And you have to beat Rei," countered Silver, a slight smile on his lips, so small, that Gold almost missed it. "Otherwise, we're all dead."

After leaving Silver, Blue, and Yellow back at the beach, hidden and safe, the rest of the Dex Holders had started their search for Rei. It was hard to tell wear the man may have been- but they watched out for the telltale wings of a Salamence and saw nothing in the skies. Which meant they had to search until they found signs.

Lilycove was burning into ashes- the department store, the hotels, the special battle arena constructed for the festival, even the contest hall- nothing was spared. It wasn't easy to see past the flames, but after a quick look from the skies, Red had confirmed Rei was not in the city. Which left either the outskirts of town or the whole of Hoenn.

Crystal had wanted to try and help out around the city, try to put out the fire, help get people medical attention- however, the flames still danced, fire much worse than what had burned down the festival. It was chilling to see just how much more power Rei had obtained in a matter of days- was it really possible to defeat such colossal power?

But Green and Red had refused her suggestion, the former with an almost apathetic frown, hiding emotion behind a Poker Face as usual, while the latter shook his head sadly, knowing that it would only hinder them.

"We'll need every bit of strength we have to defeat Rei- and that involves staying out of whatever we don't need to be involved in," Green had explained, viridian-hued eyes cold and determined. "And defeating him saves more people in the end, doesn't it?"

"Sometimes we have to make choices," Red had continued, regret shining in his crimson eyes, a striking contrast to his best friend. "And we have to work for the greater cause this time- sorry, Crystal, but we can't. Not now."

"It's okay, Crys," Gold assured his girlfriend, trying to avert her gaze from the burning city, the sounds of distant screams of pain and fear. His metallic yellow eyes were sympathetic, yet they looked bright and excited as usual. They were walking into a battle of course. "They'll have organized evacuations by now and stuff- most people will be okay." I hope, was added on as a silent afterthought.

The outskirts of town consisted of the nearby Safari Zone- now abandoned, open courtyard-like, whose flowers had wilted in the heat, and forests to the north, thick, dense lush trees, where the flames had not yet spread. None of them seemed like likely hiding places, and why would a powerful trainer like Rei even bother with hiding?

In fact, he had appeared to them last time, boldly and ostentatiously showing himself to Sapphire and Emerald, challenging to a fight he was sure to win. The man had nothing against direct face-to-face encounters, even when anyone else would have been lying low.

"It's awfully... quiet here, isn't it?" said Crystal awkwardly, looking around the empty, dead place, completely devoid of people and Pokemon barring them. "I think maybe Rei left already. There's no reason to stay here."

"Well we don't have radios to hear the news, only our Pokegears, and splitting up is probably the worst thing we could possibly do. We'll have to search this area as well as possible; let's just cross our fingers and hope for the best," said Red, sighing. "The forest is probably the best place to hide."

"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Emerald, purposely striding over towards the trees, the tips of his long, draping shirt and pants black with soot. Everyone followed after him a little hesitantly, but with the same drive. There was no room for hesitation at this point in the game- they had to be ready for anything.

"But why would he be waiting anywhere?" murmured Crystal, eyes dark with thought. "If he's got so much power on his side, why not just get rid of us?"

"Don't say that, Crys," said Gold half-jokingly, cracking a smile, his arms thrown back over his head as if relaxed. "Wouldn't you rather be alive? And it's probably better for us to find him- I don't like being ambushed."

"Yeah, I guess," she answered, though he hadn't answered her question. However, it did comfort a little bit, and Gold's smile tugged at the edges of her own lips, pulling them into a faint wisp of a grin. "Maybe it's not a good idea to think too hard."

"We're Pokedex Holders. We're good at thinking on our feet. Remember how we fought Archie at the Battle Frontier? We'll just keep making things up as we go," Gold replied, as if there were nothing to worry about. But he did feel nervous, a nerve-wracking, butterfrees-in-the-stomach kind of feeling. Good thing he could pretend it wasn't there. "Too bad I don't have a Rei costume. It'd be awesome if I could trick his Salamence or Gengar."

Crystal didn't reply as they trekked farther into the forest, thinking about how preparation had went into that fight. All the research about Jirachi, the ultimate moves, and if they had made one misjudgment, they still could have lost that battle. And Rei had more than a Surskit and an energy based monster. He had the floods and rains of Kyogre and the droughts and fires of Groudon. A much more formidable opponent.

And they didn't have much preparation on their side, and they didn't even have all ten of them fighting. With Yellow and Silver caring for Blue and Sapphire and Ruby missing, there was only five of them battling. That was half of them! At least Silver and company had handed off almost all their Pokemon, keeping only one each (except Blue, since she was unconscious, they took all of her Pokemon) for protection. They would have to depend on their secret weapon- Rayquaza.

"I found something!" announced Red after another five minutes, leaning down, looking at the ground. "It looks like a footprint- a dragon footprint."

He took out his Pokedex, holding out the camera scanner to the dent in the ground, and the machine quickly identified it as a Salamence footprint. Red could feel his pulse racing. This was it- looking closely into the dark of the forest, he could see the trail of footprints leading deep into the trees. It'd been a while since he'd had a battle that made him feel like this, feeling the excitement before the battle even began. Here was a worthy opponent, one even stronger than himself. He shivered with anticipatik and fear. How would it end?

At least Yellow is by the shore... he thought to himself reassuringly. If anything happens, she can always escape. After all, she kept Kitty with her- she'll be able to fly away, thank arceus.

There was a crunch of leaves beneath someone's feet. None of the Pokedex holders had moved a step. Red's eyes darted around, as did everyone else's, looking for the source of the sound. Was it just a wild Pokemon? Rei?

"I finally found you!" exclaimed a familiar voice, though it sounded... off somehow. But it was a relief to hear it anyways.

Six, thought Crystal happily. Six of us to fight!

"Prissy boy!" exclaimed Gold, surprised, running up to the black-haired boy. "Do you have your memory back? How did you get away from Rei?"

Ruby's mouth opened as if to answer Gold, and in that instant, Crystal saw the evil in his eyes, the emptiness, and knew. This wasn't Ruby.

Ruby laughed, a smirk sliding across his face. Beams of ice suddenly fired from behind him, and the Pokdex Holders' feet were trapped, frozen, in a solid blanket of an Ice Beam.

"Surprise!" he said, and Emerald could tell he looked like Rei, the smile, the tone...

Ruby stepped forward, and his Pokemon appeared from the trees, as if magically from the shadows. They looked reluctant, worried, but they had to obey their trainer. As Ruby was forced to obey under the influence of the orb.

"Before you can face my master, you'll have to face me!" he announced, red eyes suddenly glowing with glee. "Let this be a battle we won't forget! Milotic, Hydro Pump!"

***Oh god, what have they gotten into this time? It's the awesomeness I dub 'Evil!Ruby.' He's very evil, and very, very hot. :3 XD Now time for a bit of Rei Q & A (with my own questions to make it more exciting. :P)**

**Aeyra: Time for another Q & A with Rei! (it rhymes!)**

**Rei: I would like a valid reason why I'm tied to a chair.**

**Aeyra: You were threatening to kill me, so... Well, you'll escape otherwise. :P *clears throat* Okay, first question. "What's your favorite thing to destroy and why?"**

**Rei: Destroy? Hmmm... People who annoy me. Which would include you, your reviewers, and all of the Dex Holders. Because you're hindering my ultimate plan of world domination.**

**Aeyra: Good luck with that. Next question: "Do you hate Sapphire and Ruby's relationship because it reminds you of you and Amethyst?"**

**Rei: YOU ARE NOT FIT TO SAY HER NAME! I don't actually hate them though. I just find them amusing, and it's fun to just watch Sapphire break and play with the pieces. **

**Aeyra: Now time for _my_ questions. Which is your favorite Pokemon to use?**

**Rei: I can use my Gengar to drive you to freaking insanity, then have my Gallade slice you into little tiny bits, and then have my Salamence eat you. My other Pokemon of course can also do a pretty good job of killing you. It just matters which one is more useful at the time. **

**Aeyra: Will you _tell_ us what these other Pokemon happen to be?**

**Rei: No, that would make it easier for you to counter me, wouldn't it? I'm done with this stupid Q & A! *destroys world in fiery blaze***

**... yeah, I guess that's it. XD As far as review replies go this time, I answered most by PM for spoilers, but the ones I didn't answer because they asked for nothing now all get virtual hugs and free cookies. :3 Of course, everybody gets those. XD Next week, next chapter, as usual! Please review!***


	19. Chapter 19

***That sad moment where you almost forget to update because you were too busy watching Kagamine Ren holograms... (I'm pathetic, I know.) -.-' Well, without any further ado, let's get the chapter started, shall we? What kind of battle will we see? ;)***

Chapter 19

"Let this be a battle we won't forget!" Ruby's eyes flashed with excitement, almost flaring with life. For a second, they looked normal, as they would if he was in a contest and showing off, but the foreign malice was too clear. And it was obvious that he wasn't going to spare any mercy right now. "Milotic, Hydro Pump!"

"Agh!" screamed Crystal, feeling the full force of the water, knowing she would have been thrown back if it weren't for the fact her legs were buried in ice. She wasn't going to just stand here and be beaten though. "Megaree! Come out and use Solar Beam!"

Crystal's attack was well-placed- with a perfectly aimed throw (though she would have preferred to kick), she released her Meganium into a patch of direct sunlight, instantly charging the powerful attack. A green and yellow beam was fired from Megaree's mouth, lighting up the shadows around them.

Mimi screamed as it hit her, leaving a black burn-like mark on her pristine scales, though the Pokemon hadn't fainted, still standing, but barely. Ruby was unflinching, completely apathetic towards the fact that his Pokemon had been injured. He even smiled, happy that Crystal had retaliated.

"Milotic, Recover," he commanded, and Mimi's wounds quickly disappeared, the black burn transforming into a gentle pale yellow, eyes revitalizing. "Come on, attack me! Show me what you have!"

"Explotaro! Melt the ice! Sintaro, you use Solar Beam too!" said Gold, releasing the two Pokemon and tossing up the rest of his Pokeballs as well.

His Pokemon were released in a flash of red light, and from the midst there was fire and another green beam of energy, however, the Milotic managed to dodge it, twisting out of the way agilely, like a snake.

"Charizard, Flamethrower! And Gold, there's no need to overdo it," said Green, completely calm and focused. "It's just Ruby, you know him and his Pokemon. You don't need all your Pokemon."

The ice around their feet melted easily under the onslaught of the two fire-types, however, the flames spread to the trees, fueled by the unrelenting sun. Gold didn't care about the sudden change in the battle terrain though, too worried about defeating Ruby.

"But he's being controlled by Rei!" Gold returned. It was obvious- the reverent way Ruby had said 'master' and mentioned battling- the boy sure as hell wasn't talking about Wallace. "Doesn't that mean Rei 's giving out the orders? And he could attack at any moment!"

"It won't take all of your Pokemon, Gold," said Red, releasing only one Pokemon, Pika, like Green. His red eyes were regretful, as if he didn't want to be facing his junior in battle. Well, he kind of did, but not in this circumstance. "You could hurt him badly if we let out all of our Pokemon. It's hard to control six at once."

"Not really," countered Ruby, overhearing, the rest of his Pokemon stepping up, into the shadow-spotted light underneath the trees. "Master had me spend a day teaching them how to fight better- I don't need to give them all orders at once." The boy looked around, noting the strengthening flames with detached interest. "Let's make the battlefield more exciting, shall we? Castform, Weather Ball!"

The small gray Pokemon quickly transformed into a reddish-hue, a mane of red spheres appearing around its head. Quickly, it conjured a ball of what looked like liquid sunlight, hot and burning with all the strength of fire.

Without warning, Popo launched its attack, and Crystal could only watch as it struck Megaree knocking out her starter on the spot. The sun-fueled fire-type attack was too powerful for her poor grass type and set the trees and grass around it on fire.

"Dusknoir! Focus Blast!" called Emerald, stepping into the battle, a ball of orange-colored energy forming in his ghost-Pokemon's hands. It was released, seemingly to grow in size as it approached Ruby's Pokemon with shocking speed, immediately taking out Popo. The poor Pokemon was smacked back into a tree, hitting the wood with a hard 'thump.' "Now you only have to command five Pokemon!"

"Not bad," observed Ruby calmly, still smiling. "Look behind you though."

Emerald turned frantically to see his Dusknoir being attacked from three sides- a Shadow Ball from Ruru, Crunch from Nana, and an Assist-based Sucker Punch from Coco. The ghost-type managed to shield itself from the Sucker Punch with its large gray hand, but the Shadow Ball and Crunch hit it with full force, sending it crumpling to the ground, fainted.

"Hey, that's against the rules!" said Emerald before he could stop himself. Of course it was against the rules- none existed in a battle like this. It was a free-for-all, and their sense of fair play could lose them the battle.

"I never said I'd play fair. And beside, it's me against the five of you- I should be able to use as many of my Pokemon at one time as I want!" taunted Ruby, eyes alight with challenge. "Come on! Fight harder!"

The trees around were now all burning, blackened beneath the flames, leaves dropping in a shower of fire onto their battle. A few dropped onto Ruby, singing his clothes, his hair, but he ignored it, as if it hadn't bothered him in the slightest, too affected by the influence of the orb to notice. On the other hand, it was hard for everyone else to ignore the pain of fire literally raining from the sky, burning hot to the touch.

"Dammit!" cursed Green under his breath as a fiery leaf landed on his shoulder, leaving a scalding burn through his shirt. "Charizard, use Dragon Claw!"

The fire-type had no problem with the flames, in fact, it looked reenergized, happy in the inferno. Its short, sharp claws glowed with strange red and blue light before tearing into the side of the nearest enemy Pokemon, Nana, who yelped in pain, jumping back, but with a trickle of blood running down its side where Charizard had injured it.

"Again, Charizard!" commanded Green, preparing to finish off the Mightyena, casting a sideways glance at Red, who smiled.

When the fire lizard attacked, the dark-type wolf was no longer where it had been, instead behind it, diving with an outstretched shadow-coated paw, Sucker Punch, ready to strike- and then a bolt of electricity brought it tumbling to the ground like a shot bird.

"Nice move, Red," complimented Green as Red's Pikachu reappeared on the field, having been hiding in the trees. "It's a good thing you knew what I meant. Otherwise, Charizard might have taken a nasty Sucker Punch to the head."

"Give up, Ruby," warned Red, Pika jumping onto his shoulder, sparks flying from its red spotted cheeks, a growl on its lips. "I don't want to hurt you, you're my junior. Whatever Rei's done to you is wrong, we can help you, bring your memory back-"

"Give up? My master has commanded me to win!" declared Ruby defiantly, glaring at them hatefully. "I will fight until this is over and you are defeated."

"Defeated? I guess that could happen," said Gold, eyes shadowed underneath his huge cowlick. Crystal rolled her eyes- everyone knew what he was going to say next. "IN YOUR DREAMS!" Gold's tongue was stuck out mockingly, fingers pulling at the edge of his mouth.

Ruby was unfazed, not even looking annoyed, simply ignoring Gold. His blank eyes were now focused on Red, who tensed with anticipation. "Give me a good fight. Gardevoir, Psychic!"

"Pika, dodge it!" said Red, rolling out of the way of the invisible attack as well. Who knew whether the attack was aimed at trainer or Pokemon? Both seemed highly likely. "Thunder!"

"Delcatty, use Assist!" Picking up the move of her fallen team mate, Coco lunged at Pika, its paw once again glowing with a purplish-black light. It didn't hurt the electric type too badly, but at least caused the Thunder to miss. "Swampert, Earthquake!"

Crystal stumbled as the ground beneath her started shaking uncontrollably, like a shiver on steroids, fissures opening up in the dried dirt like sharp streams of water. Certain parts of the earth rose up in large spikes of stone, nearly spearing Red's Pika, which narrowly dodged it, jumping out of the way agiley, but not before the rock had injured its shoulder.

Grabbing onto Gold's shoulder, Crystal fought to keep on her feet, holding onto a nearby tree with another hand, glad that the bark was already burnt through, no longer lit with fire. "Parasee! Giga Drain!"

Her Parasect opened its crab-like pincers and pointed them at the still attacking Swampert. Zuzu let out a low keening growl of pain as its energy was pulled out in little balls of green, which returned to Parasee, healing whatever injuries it had already sustained.

Ruby eyed his Swampert with disgust, clearly disappointed in how quickly it had been defeated. "Weak," he muttered, returning it to its Pokeball. Turning back to the Dex Holders he said, "Keep fighting! Try to destroy me! My master will not fight you until you do!"

"Tsk," hissed Green, eyes freezing over. "Obviously, we can't hold back anymore. I don't think Ruby's going to come back to his senses unless we beat him and Rei."

"He only has three Pokemon left. Let's finish this quickly," said Red, looking a little sad. They'd already wasted too much energy on this battle- energy needed to fight Rei. "Green... No mercy."

The brown-haired boy looked over in surprise as he realized what it was Red planned to do. "Red, that's overkill, you don't need-"

"At the moment, overkill is better than under kill. Are you going to help or...?" Red left his sentence hanging, drawing the attention of the other Dex Holders, Gold, Crystal, and Emerald, who were trying to escape the ever-growing flames while skirting the abysses created by Zuzu's earthquake. When they looked over, Red mouthed the words. Crystal's eyes widened- but she wouldn't be able to help.

"I'm staying out of this," said Green, calling his Pokemon back and taking out potions. His Golduck was released, using Surf to attempt to quell the flames. "Three attacks are more than enough. Don't miss."

Ruby couldn't hear his opponents over the roaring furnace of fire- it was becoming hard to see over the smoke and blaze as well. His eyes narrowed, waiting for an attack to strike, Mimi guarding him from the flames with an Aqua Ring, protecting her possessed trainer. So he didn't see the attack coming until the gigantic, vicious vines had already reached his feet, the blast of voracious, devouring, incinerating fire knocking him to the ground, not turning him into a pile ashes only for Mimi, who had employed a Hydro Pump to combat the attack and used her long serpentine body to protect him.

Enough, sounded a voice in Ruby's head, like a tolling bell, resounding and powerful. Rei's voice. I'll handle it from here. Go heal your Pokemon and rejoin me later.

"Return, Milotic, Delcatty," said Ruby, his two remaining Pokemon disappearing into their Pokeballs. A grimace was drawn across his face, reluctance obvious in his eyes. "I am only the beginning," he hissed as a warning, agilely jumping above the snapping vines that threatened to grab him, running back towards the fiery forest behind, where the Dex Holders could not follow. They had bigger problems to handle.

The flames fanned out like ripples on the surface of water as wing flaps were heard from above. Green looked up, Pokemon fully healed, quickly spraying Red's as well. He released all his Pokemon, and tensed, ready for battle.

Crystal withdrew a Revive from her bag, quickly stirring Megaree awake, desperately trying to awaken her starter before the final battle woukd start. Emerald did the same with his Dusknoir, letting out his other five Pokemon. Gold released his Pokemon and Silver's, knowing that overwhelming Rei with a bombardment of attacks could be one of the only viable strategies.

Red simply attacked, Aero flying out in a blur of red light, striking the Salamence with a powerful Stone Edge, causing it to roll in the sky, forcing its trainer to jump off. Rei landed gracefully on the ground, like a car, night-black cloak billowing out as the displaced air and wind played with the dark fabric. His smile was wide, silver eyes dancing with delight.

"Did you enjoy the little present I sent?" he asked, his voice half-laughter. His Gengar and Gallade appeared in front of him, looking like guards, peering through the flames at the Dex Holders with eagerness, ready to fight. "I was so sure that you'd like it- Was it fun to have to fight one of your own? It was quite lucky his Milotic was smart enough to protect him with Hydro Pump. He would have died instantly in the fire otherwise."

Gold cringed, realizing the truth of Rei's words. He'd forgotten how powerful Explotaro's attack was, forgotten how hot the sun shined above them. His junior could have easily been killed in the attack. But he didn't let his feelings show, instead having his and Silver's Pokemon slowly form a circle around Rei's, using the fire to hide themselves.

"He could have burned," whispered Rei, eyes alight with fire. He remembered Amethyst, how she had died at his hands, perished from a misjudged Fire Blast. He hadn't forgotten her, he'd remembered their dream. To become King and Queen. And the final stage was here- anyone after the Dex Holders would present no challenge. "But instead of him, the ones who face death today are you."

To accentuate his words, a searing pillar of fire rose behind him. A Houndoom, whose muzzle, which was glowing with fire, ready to attack were pointed directly at the Pokedex Holders. Fire built up within its mouth, like a match thrown into oil.

"We begin now!" screamed Rei with delight, and the Fire Blast flew out like a net of fire, inescapable. The final battle had started.

***Ruby was just the beginning. :P Here's the good news- you get to see Sapphire next chapter. :3 And she'll run into Ruby... In fact, I feel like giving a teaser. XD One random line from the chapter:**

_Ruby's eyes flashed with surprise as she jumped at him, quickly pinning him to the nearest tree, her arms trapping him like a cage. _

**Are you excited now? I, for one, am hyper. XD Review Reply time! (I ate too many M&Ms)**

**ZXCVBNMEM: There's no need to run... You know you want to hug him. XD**

**Killfith: I had been itching to write this scene for a long time too. XD It was nice to finally finish it (you know, like three, four weeks ago. :P) I actually forgot to mention the cover pic last time. XD Glad you like it though. (though it's terrible since I was too lazy to do it properly.)**

**Light-Sakura: Rei enjoys killing things. So I will never let him leave the chair! :D (unless he's battling someone other than me... But my Lvl. 100 Dragonite can take him. :V Not really, but who cares about reality...?)**

**blazelight790: Unfortunately, I don't think Ruby can take on everyone at once. ^^' (that's just about impossible...) But he did get them good. Sapphire will rescue Ruby in a way... ;) The real battle is Rei!**

**Kimiko Heroux: I'm glad you liked the ChosenShipping. :3 I love that pairing! So cute, adorable, and I simply love Silver... *runs into fangirl corner* KYAAAAAAAAAAAAH! *cough* Now that that's out of the way, thank you! I hope the battle didn't disappoint!**

**CU: Thank you! They're fun/annoying to read since I'm always hyper~**

**spiritgurl21: Kicking that chair might not be the smartest idea... (now he wants vengeance. :P) Hope you liked the chapter!**

**Mrs. Flamer: Thanks for the critique. *bows* You were great help!**

**Ready for Chapter 20? Yes? Well you've got to wait a week! XD (I'm such a sadist) Leave your reviews while you wait please! :3***


	20. Chapter 20

***Sorry for the late update; I got home late last night and totally forgot about updating. TT^TT Don't kill me please. Without any further ado, here's Chapter 20!***

Chapter 20

Sapphire could smell the smoke, the acrid tang of burning wood, see it rising above the trees in lazy spirals. There was fire in the forest, and she knew that was where the battle had to be. The fire from the beach could not have spread that far and so fast.

She should have never gone after Ruby- she realized that now. She had gained nothing, absolutely nothing, from venturing after him, only exhausting her Pokemon and likely having worried her senpai. Not to mention she wasn't fighting when they needed her, needed her to aid them in battle.

Running as fast as she could possibly run, her lungs begged for air. Already, the oxygen was becoming depleted by fire. Small red embers were visible on the ground in front of her, embers liable to sprout into collosal flames. Now was not the time to extinguish them though- she had to get to her senpais' side as soon as possible.

Rei's probably makin' Ruby fight with 'im, she thought, arms pumping, propelling her forward. Which means I'll have to fight Ruby.

Dread had been building up inside her since she had realized this about half an hour earlier, after waking up from her short unintentional catnap on the edge of the woods. After climbing off Pilo, despite resting, an hour of sleep had not been enough to catch up on the many more she actually needed. Guilt filled her up as she remembered sinking to ground, unable to hold herself up any longer, falling into deep, dark slumber. Luckily, fire from the beach had tickled her toes, waking her up soon after. Along with the realization that she'd actually have to hurt the boy she loved.

It wasn't like she'd never battled Ruby before. But those battles had been good-natured, both seeking victory, but not desperate for it, filled with laughter, smiles, turning into good memories... This would be war, the two of them stuck on clashing sides, he would be intent on destroying her, and she would have to do her best not to hold back, not to take mercy on him...

She stopped, legs suddenly giving up on her, and she felt her head swirl in dizziness. Her exhaustion had never disappeared, it'd only been pushed back to the edges of her mind, and now it was attempting to claim center stage again.

I will not sleep, promised Sapphire, forcing herself to keep on moving, forcing back a yawn. I hafta get there, I hafta help... We need everybody we've got...

Her eyes almost missed the shadow running past her, a few yards to the side of her, causing a crinkling in the dry forest leaves coating the ground. Turning, she took in the running figure. A burnt black shirt, black pants, black hair, with a familiar trademark cowlick...

Almost unconsciously, she turned around, dashing, sprinting after the shadow, completely forgetting her exhaustion. Thoughts of joining the battle escaped her mind, replaced with thoughts of chasing him down. Chasing down Ruby.

She gained on him with incredible speed- she'd always been a faster runner than him anyways- quickly catching up to him in a matter of seconds. Ruby's eyes flashed with surprise as she jumped at him, quickly pinning him to the nearest tree, her arms trapping him like a cage.

"Ruby," she said loudly, feeling all of her emotions bubbling up inside of her, like a cauldron about to spill over. Her grief for having lost the Ruby she'd always known, her hope that she could bring that Ruby back, her anger at Rei for turning him into this- this mindless slave, her guilt at letting Ruby be taken from her, and her love for the Ruby she knew must still be buried inside of this seemingly empty vessel, under layers and layers of lock and key. And yet, despite all of these feelings, she didn't know what to say now, what to do. It was as if she'd zoned out- she was completely clueless.

So it was Ruby who got the first word, snarling out an insult while attempting to struggle free, trying to get Sapphire's strong arms to budge. "Let me go, you bitch!" he hissed, eyes alight with loathing, an emotion Sapphire had never seen on his face before, and it stung, like Beedrill poison. "Let me go!"

"No, I will not let you go," refused Sapphire, pressing herself closer, further assuring Ruby could not escape her grasp. In any other situation, just a week or two ago, she would have been dead embarassed to be in this position, having him so close, faces barely inches apart, bodies touching. This, however, was anything but romantic. It was heartbreaking to see Ruby like this. "I will not. I want to bring you back."

"My master will kill you once he's finished with the rest of your friends," Ruby threatened, teeth gritted. "And I'm going to help him. You'll burn and die in flames."

"I will not die. Rei is not your master. You have no master!" said Sapphire urgently, hoping that somehow, her words would break through and reach the Ruby she knew and loved, who would understand her. "Come on, Ruby, fight him! I know you can!"

"Lies," growled Ruby, still trying to free himself, but his attempts were in vain. He might be stronger simply because he was a boy, but Sapphire had more experience and the advantage, keeping him imprisoned. "Fire is too good for you. Perhaps I could switch it up, drown you for a few minutes, then burn you in fire, on and on until you die."

It hurt, even though Sapphire knew it wasn't really Ruby who was saying these stabbing, painful words, that Rei was using him as a mouthpiece, a puppet to play with her, torture her. It was like someone had grabbed her heart and was squeezing it, twisting it inside her chest, the pain unbearable. She wanted to cry. But she would not.

"This is not you," Sapphire whispered, the harsh tone of her voice surprising Ruby. "You'd never threaten to hurt me, you'd never let anyone burn and drown, you'd never say these things. Ruby, wake up, fight Rei off, please!" Her voice was begging, rising in pitch and volume, but Ruby was still unmoved, showing almost no hints of having listened.

"You are not worthy of saying his name- no matter." He smiled, a cruel, victorious smile that caused Sapphire to look down towards his hand, where a Pokeball lay on his palm. "Delcatty, Double Edge!"

The cat Pokemon flew out of its Pokeball, but froze when its large black eyes saw its target, holding back. Its nose was crinkled in disbelief, it stared at her wonderously, not wanting to attack. This was Sapphire's chance.

"Coco, you want Ruby back too, don't you?" Sapphire begged, turning her head halfway between the Pokemon and Ruby so she could keep an eye on both. "Help me. I can't do this alone, please, Coco."

"What are you waiting for, you stupid Pokemon!" yelled Ruby angrily. "Attack her already! I'm your trainer, listen to me!"

"This isn't Ruby, this is Rei speaking," Sapphire said, watching as the Delcatty looked between the two trainers warily, not sure which to listen to. "You can't listen to Ruby. Listen to me, Coco. I'll try and bring Ruby back."

"Use Double Edge!" repeated Ruby impatiently, fury permeating every syllable. "What the hell are you waiting for?"

Suddenly, an idea struck Sapphire. She knew Groudon and Kyogre were capable of fighting off the power of the orbs, and with the right retaliation, could control their controller. Ruby did not have that power, but she could force him to fight him off if she was able to stop Rei's influence from reaching him.

"Coco, Safeguard," commanded Sapphire, hoping that the Pokemon would listen. To her relief, it did, sending out a pulse of peaceful blue light, causing Sapphire to feel protected, safe, almost calm. It was like she was back in her cave in Littleroot, breathing in fresh forest air, Ruby by her side. But of course, that was only a distant hope, a wish.

The moment the light struck Ruby, he stiffened, and then relaxed, his eyes closing, his struggles ceasing. his breathing slowed to an almost sleep-like pace, and Sapphire could see him in the peacefulness of sleep, oblivion, see her Ruby still buried within. Right now, he was free of Rei. Free for her to bring back.

"Ruby," she called softly, the voice she'd use when shaking him awake after a night in their secret base. "Ruby," she repeated, more loudly, lightly shaking him. "Wake up."

"Who are you?" was his reply, and Sapphire mentally cursed herself. How was she going to make him remember? Coco's Safeguard wasn't going to last long- the Delcatty was exhausted from what was likely a battle. Ruby's nose twitched, and his eyes flared awake, full of fear. "There's fire. We've got to get out of here!"

"Don't worry about the fire, Ruby," assured Sapphire, releasing her hands from his shoulders, allowing him to move. "That's not what's important right now."

"Are you crazy?" he argued, though reluctantly. "It's going to kill us! And I don't even know you- how-"

Sapphire grabbed Mimi's Pokeball from Ruby's belt, swatting him off when he tried to take it back. Releasing the water- type, Sapphire looked up at its long serpentine form, into its big, bright red eyes. "Mimi," she said, knowing it would listen. "Aqua Ring. You can stop complaining about fire now- we have to get down to business."

"Answer me first," he whined, staring at the strange sphere of water curiously, with an appreciative eye. Sapphire looked at the attack. It was beautiful, the light reflecting off ripples of water and the radiating blue Safeguard accentuating the soft aqua-colored tones. Ruby always did have an eye for these things. His voice broke her out of her reverie. "Who are you?"

"Sapphire, my name is Sapphire." How many times would she have to answer this question? She was his best friend, having to listen to that question, "Who are you?" was devastating. It shouldn't have had to be this way. "I'm- I'm- I'm your," she stuttered, wanting to say best friend, but suddenly, the title didn't seem to represent her feelings.

"My what?" Ruby arched one eyebrow, and Sapphire looked into his eyes, the crimson crystal clear of the inky black influence of Rei.

"I'm your friend, your greatest friend, the one who's spent her last five years hanging out with you, training with you, laughing with you, smiling with you." She saw those five years in her head like a photo album, all of their greatest moments captured on her mental camera. Ruby running around, chasing her, trying to stuff her into a dress, their cheerful bickering (which by the way, was very loud) drowning out the forest noise, her facing off against him one-on-one, both wiping sweat off their brow as they shouted their next commands, so many afternoons dedicated solely to laughing, so much laughter and smiles, from jokes, from their familiarity.

She needed to let him see them, remember the memories he had lost. But how? Coco already looked fit to fall over, and how could she describe so much in such little time?

A familiar Pokemon cry, muted through the walls of its container, called Sapphire's attention. Ruru had her hands up against the side of her Pokeball, a mystical light like an aura around her. Ruru can sense emotions... remembered Sapphire. And she can help Ruby see everything! This is it!

"Um..." started Ruby, staring away. "Then what-"

"I'll let you see, see everything I can," said Sapphire, almost whispering. With an almost silent click, she removed Ruru's Pokeball from its place. The white and green Pokemon smiled as it was let it out, at its trainer, whom it was about to try and save. "I'm bringing back your memories, Ruby."

"How are you going-" Ruru's eyes glowed and became impossibly large in Ruby's vision, the red irises wrapping around his mind until he was drowning in their depths. He could see things only blurrily at first, hear small bouts of laughter, feel the touch of a warm, familiar hand, watch as a brown-haired girl gave him a smile, a small fang sticking out like a sore thumb. He didn't know any of it, and yet, it felt so close, like... a home.

"Ruby," whispered Sapphire, relating more memories to him through Ruru, wondering why she hadn't done this before, why she hadn't thought of this before, maybe they wouldn't be going through this, maybe they- Stop, Sapphire! she thought to herself. More memories, you need more of them! And Ruru didn't have this sort of power as a Kirlia anyways... Looks like Rei got one thing right at least, she mentally noted, though not without due sarcasm. Closing her eyes, she sent the memory she had been preparing, the one that changed both of their lives forever.

_"A wild Salamence!" screamed a boy's voice, frantic and shocked. "Sapphire, run!"_

_"I-I," the girl stuttered, unable to take her eyes away from the dragon's sharp claws and giant teeth, unable to think of how easily it could swallow her up. Tears welled up in her eyes as her terror level grew._

_"Nana, Coco, Ruru!" The boy had taken a protective stance in front of her, his Pokemon slowly circling the Salamence. The dragon paid them no mind- how could such puny Pokemon defeat it? "Attack the Salamence!"_

_The mighty dragon roared, slashing out without direction, trying to hit all it could in a fearful mixture of Dragon Claw and Outrage. The young boy tried to dodge the attack, the he was still clawed in the face, the force of the blow sending him up into the air, a surprised 'O' on his mouth. His Pokemon took advantage of the Salamence's distraction, quickly overwhelming it with stunning agility and an endless barrage of Hyper Beam, Iron Tail, and Confusion. It wasn't enough to knock out the dragon-type, but more than enough to send it running. _

_"I fought it off, see? There's nothing to be scared of now!" The young boy offered his hand to the little girl, wiping off the blood onto his shirt, the blood still running in thick rivulets from a twin set of scarring cuts across his forehead where unmarred skin and hair used to be. He smiled, but the little girl only stared, leaving him standing silently, not taking his hand._

_"Scary," she finally murmured in a sob, crying. "So scary." _

_The little boy's smile instantly fell, face turning dark with shame, looking so much older than his age. "I'm sorry," he whispered, too quiet for her to hear. "I'm sorry."_

I don't remember that part of it, thought Sapphire strangely, eyes closed in recollection. They snapped open in brilliant realization. "Ruby!"

Ruby opened his eyes as well, and they were his eyes again, the color of crimson, shining with life, the smallest hint of a smile on his face.

He parted his lips as if to speak, but he closed the last few inches of the gap between them with a kiss.

***FRANTICSHIPPING AT LAST! :DDDDDDDDDDDD I love Franticshipping! XD So, how was the chapter? Good? Bad? Do you want Chapter 21? **

**Review Reply Time!**

**ZXCVBNMEM: Your name is so hard to spell. . (I've been copy and pasting- random note) I love your review. XD It made me laugh so hard. **

**blazelight790: Fidget? Why? XD Did it turn out like you thought it would?**

**Killfith: Nah, Rei prefers to use Groudon himself, but had Ruby use it that one time as practice. Did you like how the teaser played out? **

**lolatron5000: If anyone fights Rei alone, it won't be Red. :P (though, it should be fairly obvious who will if it isn't Red. XD) After all, the main character of my story isn't really Red... *hint* *hint* *hint***

**Light-Sakura: You're right. Cars don't land gracefully. They land as gracefully as my iPod can correct my spelling. :P (I swear, the thing is out to destroy my writing. XD) I used to try and write about 6 fics at once, but then I ended up giving up on all of them since it was just too much. :/ I hope you manage to update yours though! **

**Master Hiram: Aw, thank you! ^^ I will definitely keep it up! **

**FireMightyena: I always figured Ruby's a lot stronger than he lets on... It takes some skill to beat up both the Magma and Aqua Leaders with a Weather Ball from a Castform, just saying. (seeing that my Castforms can't even survive going up one level while Nuzlocking.) But I think level doesn't really apply as much in the manga- some of the Pokemon know moves that they wouldn't know for a looooooong time. (Gold's Typhlosion knows Flamethrower, doesn't it? In the manga, he's supposedly in the fifties and Typhlosion won't learn that except by TM until Level 60-ish)**

**FighterGirl14: Same! I always love the bad guys. :X (even when they're basically the devil reincarnated. *shot* My Mortal Instruments fandom is coming up into my brain! DX) I has updated! (but late. :/) Thank you! **

**Next week, next chapter! Review please and see you all again next Sunday!***


	21. Chapter 21

***I ain't forgetting this time! :D Here's your update, on time as it normally should be. XD (I was going to say always, but that's not true, unfortunately. :/) Have fun reading! The battle starts... now!***

Chapter 21

Emerald watched with wide green eyes as the fiery star came towards him at overwhelming speed, seeming to glow larger as it fed off the fuel of sunlight and the surrounding flames. He was frozen to the spot- it wouldn't have mattered if he tried to run, the attack was simply too fast, and too big for him to escape. Unwilling to close his eyes, he watched each individual tongue of flame, the way they danced as if eager to consume him in their embrace, so close that the light seemed to blind him-

And then it was blown into nothing by a mighty roar that knocked him to the ground. Rei had covered his ears, but the man and his Salamence had been pushed back a good couple of yards as well, though he seemed unfazed, not a single white-blond hair out of place. Though, if anything, he looked even more excited.

The roar ended, and Emerald looked up just in time for Rayquaza's shadow to block out the sun, and as if on command, the flames around them started to die down without the extra heat to fuel them. Crystal had climbed on its back, and from where he lay, she was but a black shadow, too far overhead to be seen clearly. He could imagine her hard determined frown- that was the expression she'd definitely be wearing.

"Rather soon for you to be putting all your cards on the table," said Rei, utterly amused. "I knew you'd go and find Rayquaza- I hope you enjoyed my little challenge."

"Your words mean nothing to us," spat Red, venom flowing through his crimson irises. His hand rested on a Pokeball- ready to release the Pokemon inside. "We'll win, and we'll stop you- nothing you say can change that."

"Really? You might think you have power on your side, but do you really?" His silver eyes twinkled enigmatically. "Even all the Gym Leaders and Elite 4 of Hoenn combined could not even take on Groudon and Kyogre- I am the greatest trainer on this earth." His voice dropped low, to a whisper. It had gone quiet, with only crackling of flames like static, filling the aid with tension. "Never in a million years will you be able to defeat me."

"We'll see about that," replied Red, and Rayquaza plunged down like a bullet, a green blur of lightning, Crystal clinging tightly to the horns on its head.

"Rayquaza, Hyper Beam!" she screamed, and the dragon tilted its head back, opening its mouth wide. The rows of sharp, jagged teeth were clearly visible, outlined with the startlingly bright lighf from the white orb of energy that was forming in the middle of Rayquaza's mouth. It looked like fire, with little orange and red and yellow flames swirling like colored oil on water. Rayquaza released the attack with a mighty roar.

The effect was similar to what Crystal imagined a meteor slamming down into earth would be- it sounded as if a bomb had detonated right in the middle of the battlefileld, and looked it too. The flash of light and energy had disappeared as quickly as it had formed, and dark gray smoke had replaced it, the tendrils of shadow hiding where Rei had stood.

"Nice try- but you can't beat Teleportation." Rei's voice came from behind Gold, who swiftly jumped at the man, ready to throw a punch or two or twenty, and his Pokemon launched themselves as well, attacking with brutal force.

"Your tricks are getting on my nerves," declared Gold, grabbing Rei, who smiled, by the collar of his black cloak and bringing his fist back, ready to drive it into the man's pale face. "Go to hell!"

"Gallade, Psycho Cut!"

"Agh!" Gold stepped backwards, feeling the shallow slice of the invisible sword across his chest, placing his hand onto his wet shirt and taking it away, fingers stained with blood. Another slice, this one across his cheek- across his back, his leg, each deeper than the last. He had no idea where the attack was coming from, there wasn't time in between them to breathe, to command his Pokemon-

"Outrage!" Gold heard Crystal yell from above, and looked up, yellow eyes right with pain.

There was a coil of vibrant green and the yellow rune-like markings on Rayquaza's scales as the legendary whipped back and forth, claws lashing out almost randomly, biting with strong gnashes of teeth, head thrown back, eyes wild. Crystal jumped off with timed precision so she landed next to Gold, who was trying to stop the bleeding from the deep cut on his calf.

Crystal tore off her jacket, ripping off a portion of the white cotton with disregard, tying it tightly around her boyfriend's leg. "Don't do that again," she warned, obviously shaken. She had watched as the Gallade had prepared its next Psycho Cut, it was aimed towards Gold's throat... "He'll kill you."

"I figured that out." Gold smiled sheepishly, looking back to where Rayquaza was currently rampaging. Rei's Salamence was attempting to stop the onslaught, but even it was overpowered by the much larger, fiercer dragon. "One down."

"But how many more to go?" wondered Crustal aloud, withdrawing her Arckee and Bonee from her belt. "Come on, Gold, get back into the fight."

"Will do."

"Glaceon, Blizzard!" Rei had released another of his Pokemon. The Glaceon opened its mouth, revealing little fangs set against a delicate pink tongue, a giant storm of blue and white ice building up inside. It growled- an eerie sound that sounded like music played by dropping shards of ice shattering onto the ground, and the storm had enveloped it, completely hiding its small, lithe body.

Rayquaza, confused from the end of its Outrage and lusting for more fighting, charged at the snowstorm, frozen solid as the Glaceon unleashed the Blizzard, burying the dragon under a mountain of ice and snow.

"Rayquaza!" screamed Crystal, looking at the mound of snow that covered the legendary, the clawed hand of the dragon which stuck through stiff and cold. "No!"

"And that's why I wasn't afraid of you acquiring such a powerful Pokemon. Because I had such a lovely counter- isn't this Glaceon beautiful?" Rei leaned down to stroke it, ignoring the battle around him. His Gallade was shielding him from each attack they tried to launch, the invisible blades of Psycho Cut unpredictable and deadly. "Your friend Ruby loved it so- powerful, yet so delicately beautiful. It's like a rose- you cannot touch it, for it will make you bleed."

"Bonee, False Swipe!" The Cubone jumped up to hammer the Gallade with its hard bone club, twisting at the last moment, avoiding a Psycho Cut and hitting the Gallade hard on the head, causing it to stagger backwards, its next Psycho Cut cutting a slit in Rei's sleeve, drawing blood from the sliced-open skin.

"Watch it!" The man snarled, pushing his Pokemon back at the Cubone, commanding his Glaceon back into the battle as well. "Glaceon, use Blizzard on them!"

"That's not going to work!" taunted Gold, a smirk on his face at his Explotaro and Green's Charizard having already painted the ground with flames, a mixture of Fire Spin and Flame Wheel. "Can you freeze fire?"

"Actually- yes, I can. Glaceon, show him." Rei's smile was as deadly as the edge of a blade, and Gold shouted in alarm as he jumped up to avoid the Blizzard, which instantly quelled the flames and froze over it, unaffected by the searing heat. "You should have figured it out by now- I only use the best Pokemon on my team. This Glaceon was trained to fight Rayquaza, one of the strongest Pokemon alive. It has no fear of fire."

"Really?" said Green, surprising everybody else. He hadn't really been talkative during the battle. "I find that a little hard to believe- let's test that, shall we, Charizard?"

His Charizard roared its approval, letting out a burning stream of fire from its mouth, a powerful, mighty Blast Burn. The Glaceon quickly froze the air around it, attempting to protect itself with tiny crystals of ice that looked like diamond dust, but it was no use. It was too slow to dodge the attack, and it fell to the ground, burned and fainted.

"No fear, not no weakness," clarified Rei, looking at his Glaceon with distaste. "Still, I'll let you know that your defeat is still imminent. No matter how many of my Pokemon you defeat, you still cannot defeat me."

"Words aren't enough to defeat us- how many do you think have stood before you?" challenged Red. "How many do you think have fallen?"

"They are nothing like me- I have true power, and I am not afraid to use it. They lied to themselves, thinking themselves just, that they were doing it all for others. I know better, I tell myself no lies. I do this all for myself." Rei's silver eyes flashed. He drew the Amethyst Orb out of his cloak. "And I am done with the fun and games. It is now clear that you are all nothing but an annoyance. Groudon, Kyogre, your master calls! Come to me, my servants. Ruby too-" he added, almost as an afterthought. Twin roars split the air, and even Red looked a little paler. "I'm sure you'll have fun fighting him again. Kyogre is rising. Do you know what that means, Red?"

Red shook his head, but his mind was instantly on the beach, where Silver and Blue were hiding, where Yellow was. _No. Not Yellow. Not her._

"That's right, Red. Your friends can drown a second time, in fact-" Rei closed his eyes, focusing his energy onto the orb. "Kyogre, kill them."

The kiss seemed like it lasted an eternity, but that was fine to Sapphire. She would gladly stand here forever, Ruby's body pressed against hers, his lips locked against her own. His smell, of ice and fire and refreshing water, filled her mind, and it was like his kiss. Filled with power, passion, desire- but it was filled with joyful relief as well, happiness that he was freed.

"Sapphire." Ruby's voice was hoarse as he pulled away, and his breathing ragged. His eyes were filled with sorrow. "I'm so sorry- I didn't mean those things, it wasn't me-"

"I know, Ruby. I will never blame you for what Rei did. It's not your fault." She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he hesitantly placed his hands on the top curve of her hips. "I can't believe that worked."

"That what worked?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Coco's Safeguard and Ruru 's Psychic," answered Sapphire. "They saved you."

"I know my Pokemon are fantastic and beautiful, but you're the one who saved me, Sapphire. They are forced to listen to me, to Rei, but you managed to make them listen to you." Ruby looked over, to his Pokemon, with sudden horror. For a second, Sapphire thought he was going to throw a fit over the state of their fur like he always did. Instead, he broke free from her grasp and bent down, face filled with regret.

"Ruby?" said Sapphire with alarm.

"Mimi, Ruru, Coco, Nana, Popo, Zuzu, I can't believe I said those things to you guys." He had released all of his Pokemon, even the fainted ones. "Even with my memory wiped, to you guys, I can't believe-"

Mimi looked at him sympathetically and nuzzled his cheek with her head, causing him to laugh. "Mimi, that tickles!" Coco and Nana, who was starting to regain her energy, leaped up onto him, Nana licking, Covo purring. Popo jumped up onto his head, a large smile on her little face. Ruru smiled gently, and Zuzu smiled as well, being too big to jump upon his master without injuring him.

"There's no way they wouldn't forgive you," said Sapphire, a smile settling onto her face as well. "They missed you just as much as me and everyone else."

Ruby froze, staring back at her even more horror than before. "They're fighting Rei right now. And I- I fought them too. Sapphire, we need to go back. They can't beat him without our help-"

"Wait-Ruby-" Sapphire grabbed at his arm, right before he passed the border of Coco's Safeguard. "What happens if you leave this shield? And what are we supposed to do? We need a plan."

"I've got one- kick Rei's ass." He tried to pull free, but Sapphire held strong.

"I'm not losing you again- not this soon. And a better plan- we trick Rei at his own game."

"How? The guy's freaking crazy- but he's smart. Very smart," said Ruby, eyes flaring. "Beat him? Brawn will beat him better than brains."

"If you can make him think you're on his side, but really on ours, you could catch him off-guards," explained Sapphire excitedly. "That would be the perfect opening for Red-senpai and the others to-"

"Kill Rei, right? I hope that was how you going to end the sentence. Because that's how I want to end it." Ruby face was full of hate. Sapphire simply looked shocked. Kill? She knew they had to stop Rei somehow, but to kill him...? "There is no other way," said Ruby gently, apologetically, though with no true remorse. "And I want to, for what he made me to you, to everyone. If may sound cruel, but it's the truth."

"You would never have said that two weeks ago."

"Two weeks ago, all I wanted to win the Pokemon Contest here. And ask you out once we both won flawlessly," he added sheepishly, blushing a little bit. "Look what happened instead. How could anyone go through that without changing even a little bit?"

"But... death?" repeated Sapphire dubiously. It just sounded so... evil. To kill someone was the ultimate punishment, ultimate crime. There was no undoing it, it was final and eternal.

"You don't have to like it, Sapphire," said Ruby sadly. "I'm a little surprised at myself as well. But I'm sure that our senpai know that that's the only way. I'm just not sure they can do it without us there _right now_."

"If we charge in recklessly, you'd get hurt. And maybe Rei'll be able to control you once you leave this Safeguard."

"That's ridiculous- I'm sure I can fight it off..." Ruby trailed off, suddenly unsure. He didn't want to return to Rei's control, to be a puppet once again.

"Exactly." Sapphire thought for a second. "Fight it off..." she murmured, thinking hard. Ruby looked at her with impatience and curiosity. "I got it!"

"Got what?"

"How we're going to defeat Rei. You're going to control him!"

***Will Sapphire's plan work? *shrugs* Well, you'll have to wait until next week! By the way... I finished the last chapter. I'm working on the epilogue now! :D And I have a little present for Ruby's birthday, and I'll release it tomorrow. Franticshipping one-shot sound good? (has no relation to this story, but figured I might as well advertise.) Keep an eye out for it!**

**spiritgurl21: Tomorrow shall be even more fluffy. :V Seeing as the one-shot is a fluff dedicated to our fabulous Ruby's birthday. ;) Is Rei's name a Vocaloid reference? Sadly, when I started writing this story, I had no idea what Vocaloid was. So, no. His name is based on 'king' in Spanish (rey), which I thought looked cooler as Rei. ^^ (also, I named a bunch of Raichu's Rei, so... I like the name. XD)**

**Light-Sakura: Far from. It crashes every five minutes in Safari and once it went into an endless cycle of death after I tried to download something from the App Store. I hate the Apple apps... So I've stopped touching them, jailbroke my iPod, and play Pokemon on it and write Memories Lost on a slightly illegal app I got by using Cydia. XD Thanks! ^^ I'll need it- this epilogue is draining my concentration. :P**

**Cache Ame Pour le-Filles: Why, thank you! ^^ It's good to know I wrote it well~ I spent a lot of effort on that chapter. Here's your update! (though, it's not nearly as fluffy. :P)**

**blazelight790: Popcorn can never go wrong! XD (however, I prefer chocolate. :P It works wonders~) Rei interrupt? Eh, not now at the very least. He's too busy battling all of the others. It takes all of your concentration to fight that many people with only eight Pokemon! XD And since he likes holding back for fun, it makes it even worse...**

**ZXCBVNMEM: So he has! :3 It took him a while, but I guess it ended up working! XD Though I miss possessed!Ruby... He was fun to write... **

**Fire-Shiell: And because of your reminder, I wrote a one-shot for Ruby's birthday. So, thanks for reminding me! It wasn't very random, at the very least, it inspired me. BTW, Rei doesn't appreciate being hit on the head. I wish ff. net had dA Muro so I could draw his reaction for you, but just know he's pissed and wants to kill you. XD He's a bit violent today.**

**wolfeclipse25: If you think about it, Pokemon are kind of always possessed, aren't they? They're almost forced to obey their trainer's commands, the only thing is that they usually love their trainer, thankfully. Hm, I wonder if Rei's Pokemon love him...? They probably do in their own way. (random tangent. :P) Suspenseful? Good. Those were my intentions! XD**

**mangaluverjc: Rage mode? Sounds scary. XD Wonder if Rei's scared... **

**~Aeyra: Rei, are you scared? **

**-Rei: STOP ASKING ME STUPID QUESTIONS, OF COURSE I'M NOT!**

**~Aeyra: Sheesh, it was just a question, not a whole Q&A, you're crazy...**

**FireMightyena: I might write it someday, perhaps in the epilogue or something... *evil cackles* My plans will remain unrevealed! XD A Red vs. Ruby battle would be epic... Who would win that fight? ... *goes to Smogon Damage Calculator* Or I'll just use my fangirl brain and say Ruby. XD**

**Random Visitor Girl: I guess I don't? XD I'm glad you liked it!**

**NOTICE!- I hope that caught your eye. The review count before this chapter was 98- I trust you guys can raise it to over 100, no? If we go over 100 this chapter (which is pretty likely), I want you guys to suggest your present! I won't give out spoilers (because there's only a few chapters left, not much point... though, I have something to say when we get to the epilogue.), but most other things are up for grabs! I can write a couple of one-shots about anything to related to Memories Lost or just something completely unrelated if that's what you all really want! So, ready to hit that review button? Go!**

**See you all next week! ^^ I hope you help reach the goal of 100+~***


	22. Chapter 22

***Somehow, I almost forgot to update. *slaps self* How? Answer: Drawing on SAI, reading Pokememes, reading Dramione fanfiction, and listening to Vocaloid at the same time. I'm a very strange, hyper person~ By the way, we passed 100 by 8 reviews! Awesome, right? I only got one prize suggestion though- a BluexSilver oneshot. I'm cool with that, but I want more input before I make a final decision. I want to try and write/draw something you'll all like~***

Chapter 22

"She _is _going to be all right, right?" asked Silver for what must have been the tenth at least. His silver eyes were tainted with sick worry, fixated on Blue's still, pale, but breathing face. "She won't- _die_- right?"

"Silver, calm down," said Yellow, stifling a yawn. She had given Silver's Kingdra and Blue's Blastoise a heal before attempting to heal Blue herself- which, surprisingly, had kind of worked.

Some color had been restored the older girl's cheeks, from a marble white to a faint rosy pink, and her breathing had been stabilized as well as her heartbeat. When Yellow had tried more than that, she'd nearly keeled over from exhaustion. Healing a person was even more energy-consuming than healing a Pokemon. She felt ready to sleep for a week, maybe two.

"Still, I'm worried," he whispered softly, so quietly that Yellow almost didn't hear him over the crashing waves. "If there's anyone I refuse to lose- it's her. You feel the same way about Red, don't you?"

Yellow blushed furiously, avoiding contact with the younger red-headed boy. Of course she loved Red... It was a bit irritating how obvious it was to everyone though. "Obviously..." she muttered, crossing her arms. "Sometimes I feel like the only one who doesn't see how I feel is Red."

"That's not true."

"Feels like it."

"Have you even seen how he looks at you?" Silver asked. "Like there's no one else but you and him."

If it was even possible, Yellow's blush darkened and spread to the entirety of her face. She pulled her hat down to cover it. "Really?" she replied, voice small, meek, and hopeful.

"I'm sure. And when he and the others kick Rei's sorry arse, I'm sure he'll say something. If not, I'm sure Gold and I can coax him into it." Silver had a small, impish smile on his face.

"You're really talkative today, Silver," noted Yellow, trying to change the subject. "Why?"

"To fill up the time," he admitted sheepishly. "It doesn't feel right to just sit in silence when everyone else is fighting for their lives- ours too- and we're just- you know- sitting here. I feel like maybe if we just sit here and talk about whatever comes to mind, like this all never happened, nothing will, but I know that's ridiculous. Us talking or not isn't going to shift the battle in or out of their favor." He gave a cold, hard laugh. "Sorry if that was being too honest."

"No, that's okay," answered Yellow, sitting up straighter against the rock as the sun threatened to destroy the shade the large rock was providing. "I know what you mean. If Blue weren't unconcious, and if we had any idea where they went off to, I'd be joining them. Anything's better than waiting."

A large gale of wind suddenly attempted to blow Yellow's hat off of her head, and only her quick, practiced grab was able to save it. Big, fat raindrops pattered her in the face, causing her to look over to the sea and rising waves.

"The storm's getting bigger," Silver observed carefully, eyes focused on the approaching waves, ignoring the fact that his damp red hair was flying all over the place. "I hope that doesn't affect us too much."

"I hope not," said Yellow, both hands holding her hat down. "But it's getting bigger fast."

"So it is," he answered, suddenly terse. His body tensed, like a cat ready to strike, and Yellow saw the giant wave that had suddenly appeared only a few feet out, threatening to swallow them and drown them in its murky depths. "Yellow, run!"

She turned, ignoring her flying hat as she let go in her sprint, consumed by worry for Silver and Blue. Silver was very obviously trying to save Blue, which is why she didn't hear his footsteps right behind her, or see him in front, as he was obviously a faster runner, being taller, stronger, and male. But could he beat the wave, which was now the size of a small tsunami?

"Keep on going, Yellow!" she heard him yell again. She hadn't even noticed that she'd stopped running. Silver was hard on her heels, Blue's body held carefully in his arms, and a large shadow covered them all. "Run!"

She struggled to regain her sprinting pace, but right in front of her was the most unfortunately placed piece of driftwood in history. She tripped over the obtrusive branch, feeling horrible dread in her stomach as she felt droplets of salt water begin to rain on her body-

And then her breath was knocked out of her as Silver kicked her swiftly out of the way, not having the time or method to do it a gentler way. She let out a small gasp as her hands flew instinctively to her stomach in pain, but a bigger one still when the wave crashed merely inches from her face, stinging her eyes with salty mist.

"Get up!" she heard Silver yell again, and she turned over to see him still holding Blue, though he was trying to shake her awake, his bright gray eyes filed with worry. "There's more coming!"

He was right, obviously, and as fast as she could, which, unfortunately, was not very fast considering Silver had kicked her very, very hard, she struggled to get up, clutching her stomach as she tried to hobble along after him. Another tsunami was already a good way on the path to them, this one even bigger and more menacing the last.

_Why did I have to give Omasuke to Red? _thought Yellow despairingly. _Omasuke could help me now… Wait! I kept Kitty with me!_

"Kitty, go!" Yellow released her Butterfree in a flash of bright red light, feeling herself fly upwards, Kitty's wings flapping furiously as the wave missed again, but this time, by a good couple of yards.

"Why didn't you think of that sooner?" groaned Silver, still running, with his Feraligatyr holding Blue in its muscular arms. "You nearly gave me a heart attack! Red would kill me if something happened to you!"

"I'm sorry, it's just the panic-" started Yellow, feeling rain start to tumble down from above. "Silver, it's about to rain. Kitty can't hold me up if her wings get wet."

"We'll run into the forest then," Silver decided, looking into the dense line of trees in front of them. "After all, the rain will put out the fire." While they had been hiding behind the rock nursing Blue, the flames from the beach had spread out into the woods around them, but luckily, they hadn't had too much time to catch ablaze. "See?"

"Silver," murmured a soft voice, and Silver snapped his head around to see a waking Blue. Her blue eyes were hazy with exhaustion, expression tired but expecting. "Silver, what happened?"

"I think Kyogre's coming onto shore," said Silver, quickly taking Blue back from his Feraligatyr, helping her onto her feet, keeping her from stumbling over. "We've got to go, find the others. I don't think there's any use in hiding out anymore, at least now that you're awake. Can you walk, or do you want me to carry you?"

"That second idea sounds appealing," she teased, her eyes twinkling like they always did at whatever mischevious idea she came up with. "But I can walk, don't worry. I'm sorry for taking so long- if it weren't for me, we'd all be in there fighting!"

"Blue, I'm not sure that you're well enough to battle yet," fretted Yellow, fluttering over with Kitty holding tightly onto her back.

"What else is there to do? I'm well enough, and it's just as dangerous to hide as it is to fight," she said, standing up taller as if to prove herself capable. She could ignore the exhaustion and pain in her body if it meant she could help protect her friends and save the world.

Reaching for her belt, she tried to nab a Pokeball only to realize she had none. "Silver, where are my Pokemon?"

"I gave them to Green. Gold has mine, and Red has Yellow's. We would've kept one for you if we realized you'd be waking up," he answered with a twinge of regret. "It's actually pretty useful that Rei has no cronies." Silver had a crooked smile on his face. "We won't need our Pokemon since there's no fight until we get to him."

"Do you know where he is?" Blue asked curiously.

"No," answered Silver and Yellow simultaneously. "But we'll be better off searching than getting drowned here," added Silver hastily. "Unless you think you need more rest, I'm sure the forest is safe enough-"

"Stop worrying about me, Silver, I'm fine!" she assured him, pushing his helping arm off of her shoulder and walking in front of him as if she hadn't just drowned in an ocean about an hour prior. "Let's get started then- any leads?"

"We saw smoke- lots more than other areas, somewhere around the middle of the forest." Silver motioned into the murky shadows of the trees. "It looked like the fire of a battle. Which means we'll have to be careful-"

"I'm sure careful can wait for later," assured Blue, stalking off into the dark woods, shielding her face from the rain that was beginning to pour down upon her. "Damn this rain. It's so annoying- where is Kyogre?"

"It was somewhere out in the sea when we last checked," replied Yellow, flying up and pointing to a patch of deep water. "But if it's coming up, then it has to be because Rei-"

Blue didn't get to hear what Rei had done. Instead, she watched as the blue legendary rose out of the sea, looking magnetic and terrifying with its massive size, glowing red marks, intimidating red eyes. Water cascaded down from its sides, looking like waterfalls as Kyogre started to fly up into the sky, baring its large sharp teeth as it let out a massive, frightful roar.

On the other side of the island, where the sun shone bright and free of storm clouds, or any clouds for that matter, another roar pierced the air, this one more feral and untamed, filled with challenge. Groudon, noted Blue mentally, though she couldn't take her eyes or mind off of Kyogre. It was a lot bigger than she had thought- a lot more entrancing as well. Its presence seemed to keep her still with fear and awe, and she would have stood rooted to the ground if Silver hadn't grabbed her hand and started pulling her rapidly into the forest, Yellow hard on their heels, having returned Kitty so the Butterfree wouldn't have to suffer the rain.

"If you stand still, you'll be killed!" hissed Silver, chancing a stare backwards. The sea level had already risen to completely cover the massive rocks that had been their refuge, and it was only getting larger. "I'm not letting you drown twice, Blue!"

"Silver, the water's right behind me," cried a startled Yellow, a wave hitting her softly on the back of her boot. "I think it's rising with Kyogre- and Kyogre is going to Rei. Don't you think that we should follow it?"

"Follow it?" repeated Silver, staring at the black shadow above them that was Kyogre. "You have a point, but-"

"We should listen to Yellow, Silver. Besides, she's your senior, you should be listening in the first place," reminded Blue, eyes glued to Kyogre.

"Sometimes that gets pretty hard to remember," muttered Silver inaudibly to his Feraligatyr, which ran on the other side of him. "I am listening, Blue," he said more loudly, enough for them to hear.

"Good." She stopped for a second, catching her breath, looking at the sky. "Kyogre's stopped. We're not that far anymore."

"I think I hear battling," said Yellow, looking around them warily. "Do you think Red's-"

"I'm sure he's fine," comforted Blue, though she sounded distracted, trying to find the battle before they stumbled blindly into it. Then she looked concerned. "Kyogre's turning around. It's coming down."

"What?" Silver sounded surprised, a flicker of fear on his face. "I'm sure it's just a coincidence-"

There was a roar from the legendary water-type, and the three watched as it opened its massive mouth, a blue light building inside of it. Preparing to kill the trio, just as Kyogre's master had commanded.

As it was unleashed, Silver jumped away, not to save himself- how could he? He was in the center of the blast- but to push Blue and Yellow out of the massive beam of pressurized water knocked him hard back into the ground, spinning him into unconsciousness. He thought he heard something, or multiple things, crack. Above him, Blue screamed.

"Control... Rei?" repeated Ruby, dumbfounded. Such a plan hadn't even occured to him. "How?"

"Through da orb of course," said Sapphire, suddenly excited, blue eyes bright. This would work- it could, it had to. "Like how Groudon and Kyogre controlled Maxie an' Archie through them! If you can beat Rei in mental strength, ya could control him!"

"Problem is, the guy's already insane. It doesn't look like he's suffering from any mental exhaustion either," noted Ruby warily, combing his fingers through his bangs in thought. He liked the sound of the idea, but it sounded too wild to pin all his hopes on just now... There were too many things that could go wrong.

Not to be put down, Sapphire continued with another idea, "What about controlling Groudon and Kyogre? Turning them against Rei? You've done that before, haven't you?"

"Yeah," said Ruby, remembering the battle in Sootopolis all those years ago. He'd been riding on Rayquaza, his father controlling the mighty dragon, and he'd managed to quell the fight, though he'd suffered plenty of mental exhaustion. Could he actually do it again? "It was pretty hard, but I think I can manage it. Maybe."

"Really?" said Sapphire eagerly. This was it- their chance to defeat Rei. She still wasn't very keen on the idea of death, but what had to be done had to be done. As long as she didn't end up being the one with nlood on her hands.

"I'll try it. I'll try and control Rei too- but I don't think I should try from this far away. The closer I am to him, the stronger the connection is- but since he's the master of the orb, he's got to of power even though we're a good distance away," explained Ruby, staring back at where he had come. "Just to make sure that even if we- I mean I- fail at doing this, I think we should get back to the others. I can trick Rei and make him more vulnerable, and you can go help the others."

"But what if Rei controls you again?" Sapphire protested. At least here, she was guaranteed the Safeguard. "Then you'll-"

"Be putting a weapon in his hands?" A corner of Ruby's mouth tugged upwards. "There's another reason that I want to go back."

"What?"

"If I get back under his control here and you don't manage to Safeguard me, there's nothing stopping him from making me kill you," he said, choking a little on the word kill. "Unless you can promise me you'll be able to take me out, no mercy."

Sapphire thought that over. She didn't want to hurt Ruby, but if she had to... could she? She hoped she could, of that happened, but she couldn't risk that...

"See? Red-senpai won't have any problem with it. He used the Ultimate Move on me," said Ruby, recalling the monstrous vines that had attacked him and his Pokemon, trying to pull him apart. "So did Gold-senpai. Take my Pokemon, Sapphire."

He returned all of them but Coco and handed them to Sapphire, who looked at him in slight confusion.

"So I can't fight back. All I'll have are my fists- and if luck'll have it, Red and Gold will knock me out before I get blood on my beautiful gloves," he said, smiling, and Sapphire smiled a little despite herself. "Just make sure they don't kill me, Saph."

The nickname made her blush, just a little. Her heart gave an uneven beat. "I'm sure they won't," she comforted him. "They're your friends?"

"But I tried to kill _them_," said Ruby, looking away quickly, not wanting to see the shock on Sapphire's face. "And I would have, if I could. Good thing they beat me... But it looked close for a while."

"They know that's not you," said Sapphire firmly. "They know."

"I know," said Ruby quietly. "I've missed having everyone around, having friends, having you. It feels weird to finally remember everything- I feel like I don't belong anymore, almost. But I know that's not true," he added quickly, catching the look on Sapphire's face.

"So... What's your plan?" asked Sapphire curiously after an uncomfortable moment of silence.

"Well, you see, it starts like this..."

***Le gasp, Ruby has a plan. And you don't get to see what it is! :D I am the ultimate mater of evil and cliffhangers and all that crap. XD Review Reply time~**

**Light-Sakura: Yup! I got to 108 reviews! :D I'm so happy~ And yeah, Ruby is planning to kill Rei. In the manga, he saved Archie and Maxie, and look where that got them. The Emerald arc, where they were all nearly killed. And this time, it's not just to save the world, he has a personal vendetta against Rei. The man manipulated him, erased his memories, would have had Ruby slaughter his friends, and is having a fun time doing it. Not to mention, if they let him go, he'd be back again, and maybe even worse. Death is the only way to erase someone like that forever. (unless they're Lord Voldemort or someone like that. :P)**

**ZXCVBNMEM: XD Ruby'll do his best~**

**blazelight790: XD Ruby's not exactly the same anymore~ It's not like he really regained all of his memories- it just erased the control and gave him back a basic knowledge of who he was. But it's going to be hard to be the same person if the only things you can truly remember are ferocious battles and being controlled by a man you hate...**

**Fire-Shiell: No, not the newspaper! D: Run, Rei, run~ (I actually like the guy in some weird twisted way...) XD That doesn't mean anyone'll die, but it doesn't mean they won't... Yup! Happy Birthday to Ruby~ He's officially... I don't know, but it's still a great day!**

**Guest: XD Glad you do!**

**wolfeclipse25: Everyone sounds so surprised. (I've been reading too many books where the villain always dies- *is shot*) Read my explanation to Light-Sakura above~**

**Kimiko Heroux: Dark Ruby is always hot. X) (I wrote this fic because I love dark versions of characters so much #SLAP *is shot*) He is a bit scary, but you can't expect him to be all bouncy and positive and "BEAUTIFUL!" *bishie sparkles* after what happened to him. There might be a BlueXSilver oneshot depending on whether or not anyone else gives feedback.**

**spiritgurl21: Thank you! :D Who can resist Franticshipping? Not me! X) No such thing as too much... Well, maybe in the middle of a battle like this, but most of the time, NO! XD **

**Guest: Next chapter= here. I hope you enjoy! **

**Remember to tell me what you guys want for your prize! I can draw too, just look at my deviantART if you wanna see~ Username: iluvshadowclaw! (not the exclamation point though. XD) See you all next chapter! BTW, in case anyone wants to know, this story has 25 chapters and an epilogue! Which means we're drawing quite close to the end!***


	23. Chapter 23

***Hi~ I'm back, with another chapter for all of you! ;) Are you all ready? XD I don't have much to say, so I guess I'll just end this author's note here!***

Chapter 23

"Silver!" cried Blue, quickly crawling back over to where her boyfriend lay still on the ground, ignoring the fact that Kyogre was preparing another attack. "Silver!" Her voice was more painful than any injury Yellow could imagine. She thought about how she'd feel if Red had pushed her out of the way of an attack- and taken the force of the blow. She thought about how Silver had just pushed her out of the way as well, saving her life, and immediately felt guilt and sorrow. "Silver, open your eyes! Move, please!"

"Blue," said Yellow, voice strained and worried, running over to her not crying senior. "We've got to get Silver out of here, we all have to get out of here. Kyogre is trying to kill us!"

"Feraligatyr!" called Blue. She didn't have the strength to carry Silver as he did to carry her, though she remembered the days when she once could. The days when it had been her protecting him from danger instead of the other way around. When had things changed so drastically? "Help Silver, please."

Silver's Feraligatyr of course obeyed without question, easily lifting its master and walking quickly away, out of Kyogre's sight. Blue and Yellow followed it, Yellow carefully watching to make sure that they would not be blasted head on again by the legendary. It seemed to ignore them, thinking it had done its duty- after all, it was kind of hard to see through the trees, and it looked as of Kyogre was in a hurry to find someone. Its master, Rei.

They ran for a good couple of minutes, and then Feraligatyr stopped suddenly, causing Yellow to ram right into its rough, hard back. Blue clenched her fists as she stated through the burnt foliage. She could see Rei standing in the middle of the clearing, Kyogre flying in lazy circles above his head. She could hear loud, tree crushing footsteps approaching- Groudon.

"Red!" breathed Yellow, about to charge forward, but Blue caught her by the wrist. "Blue, let-"

"Yellow, stay quiet. We'll just distract them and give Rei an easy target if we do that. Look- Rei's paying the least attention to Gold. It looks like he's hurt. Once we're sure Rei doesn't see, we'll go join from where Gold is."

"I can't just wait here and watch!" whispered Yellow fearfully, hungry gaze glued to the back of Red's head, watching as he dove in and out of the battle. "Rei's going to have the legendaries attack any minute now, and Red- Red- he could end up like Silver. Or worse."

"Yellow, try and heal him, please," begged Blue suddenly, motioning for Feraligatyr to lay Silver onto the ground. He lay still, the only sign of life his painful rasping breath. "I think a few of his ribs are broken. I know you healed me, and I know it's hard for you, but if there's only one thing that you'll ever do for me again, make it saving Silver. Please."

Yellow looked over at her seemingly sleeping junior. He looked as if he were- but the pale tone of his skin, the painful gasps, and the fact that he had been knocked unconscious and unresponding by Kyogre showed that he was not.

"Of course I'll try and save Silver," said Yellow, walking over and laying her small hand on Silver's chest. She felt a break in one of his ribs. " I would do anything for family."

Blue breathed a sigh of happy relief. " I'll go get Gold then. And I know Silver will be safe with you, Yellow."

It sounded awfully like a farewell of sorts. "Blue, are you going to-"

"Fight?" Blue finished for her, azure eyes shining with anger and sorrow. "I can do nothing here but wait. I'm useless here. But if I fight- I can help Silver so much more than just standing here and trying to keep from crying. I'll make sure to protect Red. You'll be watching through here- there's nothing to worry about."

If only, thought Yellow despairingly. But Blue's right- she should fight. I'm no good at battling compared to everyone else. I'll just get in the way. If I'm here though, I can save my friend. "I know," answered Yellow, oddly subdued. "Go, Blue. Help Red, please."

Blue nodded, sneaking off as only she could, towards where Gold lay. Even Yellow, who watched her entire trail, lost sight of her before Blue had reached her target. She could when her brown-haired senpai did though- Gold almost jumped into the air- luckily, Rei's attention was focused mainly on the other, not yet injured Dex Holders. As Yellow looked closely, she saw how pale Gold was- evidently from blood loss. There were deep cuts running along his skin, on his arms, his legs, and a slice in his shirt that left the nearby threads coated in dark crimson. And the injury was still bleeding.

"Get him over here," was what Yellow wanted to say. Gold's injuries, she knew she could fix. They were skin wounds, minor compared the injuries she could feel on Silver. Fractured bones, bruises everywhere, not to mention that many of the bone fragments came awfully close to piercing his lungs and heart. She could simply sense the full extent of his injuries, as if reading from a book of them. She wasn't sure how much she could do. But she had to try.

It was hard to describe what healing was like- Yellow didn't truly understand what she was doing. Closing her eyes, she let the healing light course through her body as if it had replaced her blood, feeling it leave her hands into another force, one currently weaker than her own. It was like transferring a bit of your own energy, own life- which was why she always felt exhausted after reviving a Pokemon or human. For Silver, she wasn't sure how much energy was left to give.

It was enough for him to wake up in any case- he hadn't been exhausted to the same extent as Blue, but Yellow felt guilty for waking him. After all, now he could feel the pain, and Yellow wasn't an anesthesia. He had to lie still and suffer.

"Where's Blue? Is she okay?" Those were the first words out of Silver's mouth. He sounded hurt, but more worried than anything else. Yellow felt like smiling, just a little. No matter what happened, her junior was always strong, putting someone in front of himself no matter what else he may say.

"She's fine. She's battling," answered Yellow, stifling a yawn. She was starting to feel the relentless lethargy.

"Battling?" Silver sat up quickly, making Yellow recoil in shock. His eyes were wide and alert with fear. "Yellow, she's still hurt, how could you let her-"

"She wanted to," answered bluntly, pushing Silver back into a lying position. "And get back down! You have broken ribs."

"I've had worse. Will got me pretty bad back when we were fighting near the shrine, but I still fought."

"Well I won't let you," said Yellow stubbornly, letting out Kitty despite the rain. "I can make Kitty put you to sleep with Sleep Powder, or you can stay awake and stay still."

"Fine. But I can't see anything from here," complained Silver tersely, trying to turn to a better angle. "If something happens to Blue though, I swear, I am getting up and fighting no matter what you try and do to stop me. Sleep Powder can't get far in the rain," he said triumphantly. "I don't care if I have a broken rib."

"Are all of you boys like this?" asked Yellow, sighing. "Gold's hurt bad, and it looks like he's bleeding everywhere, but he's trying his best to keep fighting."

"That's how we all are, Yellow," said Silver laughing. "We're Dex Holders. It's our job. You know you'd fight too if you weren't here caring for me." Silver's tone strongly hinted that he didn't need to be cared for. Yellow wondered how he sounded so energetic.

"I know." Yellow yawned, a big yawn, continuing to heal Silver. Humans healed so much slower than Pokemon. His bone was only just beginning to mend. "Tell me if it hurts."

"I don't feel a thing. Just let me up."

"Liar." Yellow poked him firmly, but not hard, above his bone.

"Ow!" Silver bit his lip, glaring. "That was cheap."

"You didn't want Blue fighting right, because she's hurt?"

Silver nodded, looking rebellious. In that instant, he reminded her of Red. Red coulnd't stay out of a battle either. Would he try as hard as these two were to protect Yellow though?

"That's how she feels about you. And I'm listening to her, because it looks like she's better now."

"And I'm not?" challenged Silver.

"I only had to heal her fever. You? A bone. I don't think you get it, Silver. Lucky you weren't hurt too badly by Kyogre's Hydro Pump. You would have been killed if you'd hit the ground on the base of your neck. You landed on your chest," explained Yellow, patience and energy wearing quickly. She felt like passing out and sleeling for a month, hitting Silver- hard- wasn't such a bad idea either. Why did he choose today to become talkative?

"Miracle, isn't it?" said Silver, tensing. "I thought I was going to die, but I didn't care. I could die now, but I won't care as long as I get my chance to fight."

"Silver-"

Silver jumped up and performed an agile backflip backwards. To the untrained eye, he looked fine, but Yellow could see how his breath was uneven, the pain hidden behind his bright gray eyes, how he was slightly hunched over, obviously hurt to her.

"Silver," she started again, releasing Kitty. "Down." She felt as if she were trying to command a disobedient Pokemon. Silver would only ignore her, as would the Pokemon. "Right now." She didn't sound very convincing. "Kitty, use Sleep Powder!"

"Feraligatyr! Use your water to aim the Sleep Powders at her!" commanded Silver, and his Pokemon quickly shot a huge spray of water, knocking the little spores out of the air, and right back down onto Yellow, who fell to her feet, already exhausted, asleep.

"I'm sorry, Yellow, but it's my choice." Silver sounded a little regretful as he placed her under a bush, far from the sight of even an observing eye, but he started running off all the less, one hand placed on his still broken rib."Feraligatyr!" His starter twisted its head to follow his master. "We've got a battle to join!"

"Blue! Silver!" Red looked around towards where his friends had suddenly appeared. Both had already retrieved their Pokemon and actively fighting. "Is Yellow-" He stopped, looking up at Rei's obnoxious, mocking expression. Saying her name was enough for the man to go off on a torturous tangent.

"That little blond girl is simply adorable," commented Rei, laughing. "Yes, tell me, Blue, Silver, how is she? Which one of you did Kyogre manage to kill off? Her?"

Silver snarled, feeling a twinge of searing pain in his chest. Yellow was fine. But Rei's condescending tone, his obvious disregard for life, annoyed the hell out of him. "No one!" he replied, anger written clearly across his face. "So why don't you try some other cheap trick? Because employing one of the strongest Pokemon on earth against three teenagers with two regular Pokemon between them can hardly be regarded as fair. In fact, I'd say it's cowardly."

"And I dismiss your words as jealousy. And the product of emotion. Pointless, stupid emotion. Emotion leads only to weakness," declared Rei coldly. "They only give me another weapon to hurt you with."

"Don't give me that shit!" screamed Silver, surprising even Rei with his intensity. "You've loved too, haven't you? We know. We've heard of her. Ame-"

"You have no right to say her name!" yelled Rei, instantly furious. His dark gray eyes had flared to life in anger. "And that is different. She is dead, she is not a living target. And I know. How could I not?"

"After all, you were the one who killed her, that's what you were going to say, weren't you?" Silver gave Rei the same arrogant smirk the man had always given them. "You can play with my emotions, but I can play with yours too. Never underestimate us."

"Amethyst is dead. You can't hurt her. Even when she was, I was the only one who could. She would beat you all into the ground!" hissed Rei, struggling to maintain his cool composure. He put his hand on the orb again. "It's time for you all to burn! You can die the same way she did! Salamence!"

The dragon Pokemon roared despite looking fit to collapse, stumbling over and lifting itself into the air where it could put the full power of the sun, unhampered by the presence of any shadows, into its attack. Silver moved his finger, gesturing for his Feraligatyr to counter the Salamence before it could do anything. At the same time, Blue asked the same of her Blastoise. Rei was too distracted to notice.

"Any last words?"

"I'm kind of sick of hearing those kinds of words," sighed Gold from the sidelines, causing Silver to roll his eyes despite himself. "After all, it usually ends up being the bad guy's- AKA _you_- last words. At least, last words before we kick your ass. Or implode, like Archie did."

"Gallade! Psycho Cut!" Gold didn't even have time to blink and the psychic-type, which had been protecting Rei all the while, came at him with the speed of a bullet, wielding its invisible blade, this time- aiming to kill-

"Your emotions really do distract you," commented Gold as Ataro pulled the Gallade back with one of its tails, using the other one to pummel the Gallade- the Psycho Cut instead shredded off a few leaves of the tree above them. "I knew you would send your Gallade over here."

Surprisingly, this time, no one thought he was lying. _Well, if he is_, thought Silver, _then he's got a way better reaction time than I thought_.

Rei gritted his teeth- it was obvious that he was losing his concentration. He turned to his Gengar, smiling. "Gengar, show them who to fear! Nightmare!"

Gold suddenly whiffed the smell of blood and looked down to see he was covered with it. His clothes, his skin, cut and painted over with blood, Gold's own blood. The Gallade's invisible sword hit him again and he curled to the ground, hoping to avoid the pain, the death blow-

"Gold!" yelled Crystal, shaking him awake. "Gold! Snap out of it!"

"What- what was that?" Gold stuttered, afraid to look at his body, afraid to look at wear his fingers clenched Crystal's arm, afraid that he would see a trail of blood along her white sleeves... "Nightmare doesn't work on people when they're awake."

"That's what you think. Your blue-eyed friend experienced that too- though I had her suffering for far longer than you," commented Rei, able to hide his emotion in his Poker Face once again. "I wonder where she is now. It would be a shame if she were still trapped on my island."

Before anyone had time to reply, two familiar people stumbled onto the battlefield. One had black hair, red eyes, and was viciously shoving his captive, a girl with brown hair, blue eyes, into the middle of the field. Rei looked over with a smile.

"She's right here," announced Ruby triumphantly, presenting Sapphire to Rei, using his hands to hold her wrists together. Sapphire was struggling hopelessly. "I brought her, master. I ran into her when I was healing my Pokemon."

There was an intake of breath from the other Dex Holders as they saw Sapphire, held captive, by their possessed friend. It was one thing to attack an enemy, but if that enemy had a hostage so dear to their hearts-

"Really," said Rei, voice slow and measured, calculating. "Hand her over. She's quite the hostage." Sapphire tensed, fingering the Pokeball hidden in her wrist. Ruby kept him grip firm- when he squeezed, it would be the signal for Sapphire to attack.

Ruby stepped closer, still holding Sapphire, trying to avoid eye contact with Rei. He waited until he was right in front of the loathsome man, about to squeeze Sapphire's wrist when Rei grabbed him instead, caught Ruby's neck in a vice grip, a dagger suddenly in Rei's hand. Ready to slit Ruby's throat.

***I looooove cliffhangers. (if you haven't noticed yet.) Only two more chapters left after this one, and then we have an epilogue! ;) There's still plenty of action to come! Now for Review Replies...**

**blazelight790: That's a lot of Lvl. 100s... O.o Though, I would imagine Rei's Pokemon are pretty close to that level. XD (though I'd like to see him take on my Dragon Dance Dragonite... (Glaceon goes down to Brick Break. XD)) There's going to be a Blue/Silver oneshot soon, instead of a Frantic or Special one. But I might write them anyways if I get bored. XD**

**wolfeclipse25: I don't think so, but who cares? Fake words are fun! Rooreeloo!**

**Natural Athlete: Thank you! ^^**

**Guest: Hah, I probably do read too many books where the bad guy dies. XD It just feels more fitting that way~ This story is a bit darker than the manga, and I'm the kind who likes the epic ending where the bad guy dies and the characters are all celebrating and there's angst and all that~ Just my kind of thing.**

**e: Sure thing. ;) **

**ZXCVBNMEM: I love evil cliffhangers. I'm an evil, evil person who leaves cliffhangers on every chapter I possibly can! :D I dunno, I just like that. It's my style. XD (probably should change that, but whatever.)**

**Guest: I don't see what my being in CU has anything to do with the story, nor why a story about DarkSacredJewel would apply to me. Please figure a bit more about what CU does before leaving a pointless flame.**

**FireMightyena: Agencyshipping has a ton of love! Fanart, fanart EVERYWHERE! (though, I guess there aren't that many fanfics on them...) Chosenshipping definitely needs more though! I love Chosenshipping! They are just so cute! I just need to think of a good idea for a oneshot and I'll be all set... *racks brain* It'll come eventually, I'm sure of it. Hopefully... (it'll probably focus on Silver, since I love Silver) **

**By the way, I published a Franticshipping oneshot yesterday for a contest on deviantART. It's a songfic of sorts, with no lyrics in the fanfiction. net version because song lyrics are not allowed on this website. If you'd like to read the version with lyrics, head to my deviantART account- just get rid of the spaces. www. iluvshadowclaw. deviantart. com Thank you! Please check out that story and leave me a review here as well!***


	24. Chapter 24

***Just saying, playing Pokemon Soul Silver and drawing at the same time _really_ messes up your sense of time. I thought it was only 8 o'clock, and in reality, it's 9:30 PM. D: But at least I realized! So here's the update, albeit a bit late! (and in other notes, my shiny Beedrill is awesome. :P)***

Chapter 24

"Ruby!" shrieked Sapphire, releasing Toro, who was about to leap forward and kick, its taloned foot bursting into flames, swinging at lightning speed towards Rei's face-

"I wouldn't!" said Rei savagely, laughing as he held Ruby up in front of him as a human shield, his Gengar raising a hand. "You attack me, he dies! You really thought I didn't know about your plan? What a joke! I can't believe you thought you could outsmart me."

Ruby started clawing at Rei's trapping arms, desperate for air despite feeling the bite of the dagger on his flesh, the same one that had taken away his freedom, and nearly his life, before. He looked scared, shocked, and yet- he looked determined and fearless at the same time. "Thought I might as well try," he spat, eyes filled with hatred. "Saph, back off. You're still in his range!"

Sapphire backed off just fast enough to avoid a Shadow Ball aimed at her head. "But-" It sent a tree branch crashing down almost on top of her, and she avoided being hit by mere inches.

"I can fight him myself!" yelled Ruby, breaking into a fit of choking, coughing, voice hoarse and quiet and yet the only thing Sapphire could hear.

"I can put you back under my control," threatened Rei, loosening a little so Ruby could breathe, but only barely. "I can make it so you take this dagger out of my hand and kill every one of your friends. I'd make you save her for last, make you draw out her screams until she can scream no more, make you bleed her out to the point of death, but string her out to the last possible moment, make you finish her in the cruelest of ways. And then I'll let you go and let you see your blood-stained handiwork. Do not doubt me. I can and will do what I said."

"That's if you get me under you control! And Sapphire could easily fight me off- I could never kill her!" Ruby said defiantly, but his eyes betrayed his doubt. He'd been controlled once, had been willing to slaughter his friends. Was it to happen again? "I'm the one you shouldn't doubt, I'm the one you shouldn't overlook."

"And why would that be, Ruby?" asked Rei lazily, scratching little red scribbles of blood with his dagger into Ruby's skin. "You don't even appear to have your Pokemon with you- did you give them away? Poor planning on your part."

"I'd rather not have them than have them end up in your hands. They'll be more useful against you than with me- besides, you messed up their pristine beauty. That's unforgivable in my book," said Ruby, trying his best to distract Rei by talking as Sapphire and the others formed a plan. "If anything, you'll pay for the burn mark on Mimi's neck."

"You don't match me in strength, you don't match me in wit either. You were so much stronger with me, Ruby. All the power you could ever wish for was within your hands. What a waste. Without me, all you care about is the superficial. The only thing in this world that holds power is well- power."

"I don't care for power; none of us do," said Ruby, turning his intense gaze down to the others, who were watching with a horrified fascination. Wanting to do something, anything, but unable to move a muscle. Ruby was slightly irritated- he hated all this righteousness and heroism. Sure it was nice to know his friends cared enough to not want to potentially injure him, but being noble wasn't how you won a war. "Fight him! I don't care if you hurt me! Call ourselves heroes? We've got a job to do, and you're all standing there like you've been hit by Disable!"

As if someone had pressed the play button, all of the Dex Holders but Sapphire came back onto the scene, shouting out powerful attacks to destroy Rei.

_No! _Sapphire wanted to scream. _Don't hurt him! I don't want- I can't- _

But there was no need to worry- yet. The attacks she had feared were for Ruby and Rei instead flew upwards where Kyogre was drawing the storm to an even more intense level. Some also hit Groudon, which was trying to replace the endless clouds with a blazing sun, causing it to stomp out an Earthquake, splitting the earth beneath their feet into islands separated by long, deep fissures.

"I believe its time to let them loose," said Rei, psychotic joy filling in his features. "Watch closely, Ruby, watch me kill your friends, watch as they die in front if your eyes. Except for Sapphire. As I promised, that honor is yours."

"Run! Groudon and Kyogre- together, they'll kill you if you don't move!" screamed Ruby at the top of his lungs, but where was there to run? Some of the Dex Holders were trapped on islands of land barely large enough to stand on- Gold looked as if he were about to fall. Suddenly, a thought of inspiration flitted a ross Ruby's mind. Where to run but the sky? "Quick! Use Fly!"

Before he had even spoken, Red and Green had risen up on Aero and Charizard respectively, but only Green looked battle-ready. Red instead looked shaken with fear. Which was when Ruby noticed it- where was Yellow? Red's gaze was glazed onto Silver's, imploring the younger boy to tell him where Yellow was. But to tell would mean Yellow could be killed.

"Explotaro, Smokescreen!" shouted Gold suddenly, causing the battlefield to be made entirely invisible between a thick cloak of black smoke.

Ruby coughed and tears of pain flowed unwillingly from his eyes. Rei cursed behind him, he too blinded by the smoke. Ruby heard a quick muttered discussion which he instantly made out to be between Red and Silver. The sound of a flying Aerodactyl was echoing through the air, and Ruby presumed that Red was flying to find Yellow while Gold's Smokescreen bought him invaluable time.

Ruby expected an attack, but none came, almost disappointing him. Rei was an exposed target right now, easily taken out by an attack of any sort... Except Ruby was in the way. And even in the smoke, Ruby knew he wasn't getting away- if there was one thing he could feel, it was the knife. It was easy to imagine if piercing right through his throat like an arrow- in and out.

"Salamence!" called Rei at last, and Ruby could feel the almost wind-like air blow all the suffocating smoke. "Use Wing Attack again- hit them hard, would you?"

'Them' ended up being Green's Charizard, which scored deep cuts in the dragon's wings with a well-placed Dragon Claw which finally felled the already injured, far-beyond-its-limits Salamence. "Too slow," said Green, looking down at the fainted opponent with cold, triumphant eyes. "Too easy- could you make this more entertaining? After all, I'd hate for your game to be boring."

Rei tightened his grip on Ruby's throat, and suddenly, Ruby couldn't breathe any more. He let out a horrible gargling noise that had everyone flinching- except Rei of course.

Dammit... thought Ruby, trying his best to struggle free, trying his best to resist the attacks on his mind. He could feel them, like stabs to the heart, drawing out his blood, his willpower, his entire being, trying to pull him back, back to Rei. I can't, not again. No!

"Resistance won't work, my dear Ruby," whispered Rei into his ear, using his knife arm to slowly cut off Ruby's bandages. "You will give in to me. There is no amount of willpower in this world to save you."

That's what you think! Ruby, taking advantage of the knife no longer being at his throat, kicked viciously back at Rei, who stumbled, grip loosening. Ruby breathed. Another kick. The knife was back.

"I've had enough stalling. My patience is gone!" shouted Rei, and Ruby's eyes grew large and wide with utter dismay. "Groudon, Kyogre, destroy them! No more waiting!"

The legendary Pokemon both seemed to smile- there was nothing interested in simply standing or floating, and attacking was a great way to vent out their boredom. Kyogre was building up a vicious Water Spout and Groudon was splitting the earth with Earthquake after Earthquake after Earthquake and preparing a powerful Solarbeam. Sapphire looked to Ruby, mouthing "Get ready" as Rei admired the destructive power of his Pokemon.

Ruby tried not to react, not to give anything away this time. He kept his expression constant- agitation, pain, fear- and continued to try and fight without being killed by the sharp blade in front of his neck.

"Ruru, now!" shouted Sapphire, suddenly releasing Ruby's trusty Gardevoir. Quick as a flash, its Psychic sent Rei's knife into the ground, nearly spearing through the man's foot. Sapphire sprang up, jumping at Rei, hitting him with a monstrous kick to the face that sent the man stumbling backwards. As she landed, she grabbed Ruby's hand, freeing him from Rei.

Ruby felt the sudden weakness in Rei's mind, the surprise, the shock, and launched his own attack. If one is not careful, it'll be their victims that control them, thought Ruby smugly, defiantly, as he concentrated on the strange, tattered fragments of Rei's mind. It was a little sad really to feel someone in such a state of decay, where evil had robbed Rei of rationality, where grief had pushed him over to the realm of insanity.

"Groudon, Kyogre, I command you to stop!" shouted Ruby, trying to reach out to the lehendary Pokemon. Could he really reach them at the opposite end of the Amethyst Orb's power? "STOP!"

But they did not stop- they only continued their rampage. Ruby could only stare in stunned horror as the earth itself shattered beneath his feet, only instinct allowing him to cling to the edge of what was now an abyss. It hadn't worked. It hadn't worked.

"Surprised?" laughed Rei, appearing at the edge of the precipice Ruby clung to. "Was that the Ace up your sleeve? Pathetic. I'll always hold the joker." Rei held out the Amethyst Orb, almost teasing him with the sight of it. "The legendaries will not bow down to you unless you hold the orb. They refuse to bow if all you can do is shout."

"I've done it once, control them," said Ruby, closing his eyes and focusing his mind. He could sense, see, feel the auras of the two, Groudon and Kyogre, sheens of red, hot fire and blue, chilling water. He also felt Rei's boots stepping on his fingers, threatening to push him off. "I don't need some orb to control them- I know I can!"

"You tell yourself that," replied Rei with a wide smile, pressing hard into Ruby's hand with his foot. "Let's see if you still believe it when you're in hell! I've had enough of you!" And that was when Rei kicked Ruby hard in the face, sending the teenager spiraling down, down into the abyss.

"Ruru, Mimi, Pilo- save Ruby!" commanded Sapphire, struggling to regain her balance on the still shaking ground while desperately running towards Rei had shoved him off. "Dono, Rono, Toro- attack Rei!"

Sapphire's rescue team of Pokemon quickly dived after Ruby, Mimi coiled like a snake around the Tropius's neck, but not pulled tight, and Ruru carefully balancing on the flying-type, using its psychic powers to both maintain balance and propel them faster. The Milotic shot out like an arrow once they were close enough, wrapping around Ruby and catching him as Ruru helped slow Ruby's fall long enough for Mimi to pull him back up onto Pilo's neck.

Sapphire herself joined the attack party, her Pokemon launched against Rei's Gengar and Houndoom, his last Pokemon. Sapphire aiming a vicious clawing at Rei's face.

Having been watching Ruby fall with a lazy smile, Rei looked almost surprised when Sapphire leaped him, lashing out with tooth and nail. He jumped backwards agilely, but Sapphire had still managed to leave a score of bloody welts across his face.

"You bitch!" exclaimed Rei, holding his fingers to his face to wipe off the blood and frowning in disgust as they came away red. "Kyogre, aim your Water Spout at her! Kill her!"

"That's not going to work!" said Sapphire, charging for him again. "Not unless you want it to hit you as well!" Brandishing her long, uncut nails, for some reason, she started thinking about how Ruby had wanted to paint them for the festival. _I'll paint them red with Rei's blood_, she thought smugly, raising her hand like a Persian would raise its paw. "You can go and die!"

"Gengar, Nightmare!" Rei was prepared this time, disappearing like a cloud of gas the moment Sapphire was about to touch him, the surprise making her land ungracefully on the ground, landing in a pile of burnt, soot-covered leaves. Then the Nightmare hit, and Sapphire, try as she could, could not shake it off.

"Sapphire!" she heard Ruby shout, but it was like hearing his scream through water, and instantly, she saw him drowning again, drowning, drowning, drowning in the stormy sea, but this time, no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't reach him. The water was cold as ice against her skin, the currents hard and forceful as they pushed her and Ruby away from each other. Salt burned her eyes like the fear burning her veins, and even though she knew now that these visions were far from real, she couldn't help but being paralyzed with terror, couldn't help thinking that Ruby really was drowning, and with a sick realization, that she was drowning as well, but she knew she wasn't, and the worst part was that it didn't make the Nightmare any better.

"Sapphire! _Sapphire!_ Wake up, you're stronger than this! Wake up!" screamed Ruby, and it sounded as if he were a distance away, fighting something, someone, letting out a gasp of pain. What had hit him? Sapphire wondered vaguely, still trying to fight off the clutches of the dream. It was hard to tell the difference between reality and the nightmare, the edges of her tormented vision blurred.

"Not so tough now, are we?" said a familiar voice, and Sapphire wanted to fight, but she felt as if she were being weighed down with lead, like a Pokemon had used Gravity and the invisible force had pinned her down to the ground. "Didn't you know about my Gengar's Nightmare and Hypnosis as well? And yet you still tried to fight me head-on."

_Of course I did, _she thought, _and I would do it again a thousand times. I want to defeat you with my own hands!_ She was mostly free of the Nightmare now, and she could tell the water she had felt was merely a sheen of sweat, the icy chill the shivers that fear had sent down her spine, the vision only a vision. But the Hypnosis still had her in its grasp, vulnerable. Where were her Pokemon?

"Toro," she whispered weakly, "Rono, fight him!"

"It was wrong for you to underestimate me," Rei said, baring his teeth. "Even with most of my Pokemon down, why would you presume that I hadn't brought preparations? Groudon and Kyogre can serve as distractions- and even if you were watching, what would have stopped me from using a Revive or two?"

That meant that all of his Pokemon were back. Sapphire's insides churned with a terrible, sickening feeling of hopelessness. That meant the battle would start all over again, and she'd have to use her battle-weary Pokemon and now worn-out body to fight him. Struggling to open her eyes, she turned her sky blue gaze to where she knew the Salamence lay fainted to see it waking, Rei's Gengar having teleported to it and given it the Revive.

It almost felt like cheating on Rei's part. Sapphire had never actually played a video game, preferring to be outdoors breathing fresh air than cooped up inside her small house hitting buttons, but she had watched Ruby play the GameCube in his room before, hitting the 'reset' button so he could start over the level with his lives back. She'd asked if it had been fair, and he'd shrugged it off, saying "It's just a game. Doesn't matter if I cheat a little." Of course, she'd dragged him kicking and screaming outside, something she couldn't do now. She couldn't turn off the game, couldn't shut it off like it had never been started, never been played, leave it untouched in the clutches of the game console. Life was so unfair- her enemies could cheat, and all she had on hand were a few measly berries.

There was the heavy thump of a boot against the ground, and Sapphire turned slowly, wishing she could jump off the ground like she wanted to, agile as an Aipon, instead of lying lethargically on the ground like a sleepy Slakoth.

"I'm done with you," said Rei in her ear, and she heard the swishing sound as his dagger was drawn from its sheath. "There's no need to save you for Ruby- after you, he'll be the first one to go." She let out a gasp of pain before slumping down, dagger buried in her backside. Ruby's desperate shouts suddenly filled the air, and she could see his lovely red eyes, black, black hair in some beautiful, ethereal light as he ran towards her. Involuntarily, she closed her eyes.

***Oh cliffhangers, cliffhangers... I dunno, they simply control my life. This one practically _begged_ me to write it... I dunno why. I'm just a sadist. :V And while doing this, I'm drawing angels... ... Yeah. Review reply time!**

**Light-Sakura: Really? That's a bit odd. :/ Oh well! As long as I know it's you now! XD To tell the truth, I completely forget what happened last chapter. (I wrote it weeks upon weeks ago. :V) But I imagine Silver wouldn't want Yellow to go... She's the least battle adept of the Dex Holders, and she'd be much too tired to battle after healing Blue. :V (IMO at least. XD)**

**blazelight790: Call that a cliffhanger? Take this! :D Don't worry, I have Pokemon to hurt Rei with too. :V Face the wrath of my crappy Soul Silver team! *only has... ... five badges so far* Actually, never mind. Platinum Team! :D (Dragonite, Lvl. 100, Charizard, Lvl. 100, Gyarados, Lvl. 100, Mewtwo, Lvl. 100!) No problem! Thanks for taking the time to review. ^^**

**Mimishee Lee: It's okay! Just a review is fine to me~ (I love reviews.) XD I probably should tell you that this is a worse cliffhanger, but I think you've figured it out. It'll only take a week for the next chapter... ... And then we'll have my epic epilogue. :V I love Ruby and Sapphire too! :D (why else would I write this? *is shot*) **

**ZXCVBNMEM: I'm still trying to see if I can remember how to spell your username without copy and paste. XD It's pretty difficult. :V XD Everyone wants to destroy Rei~ You should all line up. (though, I don't see why. I personally really like Rei, just saying. :V Of course, this is coming from the author who created him. And a huge fan of a character whose only purpose in life is to burn down the world. :X) **

**wolfeclipse25: Blood will always be spilled, my friend. :V It makes for solid entertainment. XD (this is coming from someone who can't stand the violent scenes in a movie and closes her eyes and shuts her ears. :V I'm so weird...)**

**Natural Athlete: That would be me if this was a movie. XD I would have my eyes closed for this entire part... **

**SniperGYS: :D Good to see you over here! I should probably put the rest of the chapters up on dA... But I'm a bit too lazy for that. ^^' I left links to here, so that should be good enough. :V (though the first few chapters suck like crap.) I love drama in a fanfic too. ;) But I'm too busy to read many PokeSpe fanfics, so I don't many others... (not to mention that too many fics contain OldRivalshipping. Dunno why, but that pairing pisses me off. So does SilverxLyra... especially since the latter doesn't exist in canon.) Of course Rei is cool! XD *is shot* I don't know what goes through his mind either. :V **

**By the way, I _will _write that BluexSilver oneshot once I get a bunch of other stuff out of the way. Expect it maybe around the time of the epilogue, or next week. Or I'll magically get inspiration and it'll be up within the week. Themes and prompts are highly welcomed. As usual, reviews are highly appreciated, and I'll see you all next week! :D***


	25. Chapter 25

***The last chapter? It's finally here! Ready to see the battle come to an end? ;) I'm pretty sure you've all figured out who wins, but I hope you still enjoy it nonetheless!***

Chapter 25

"Sapph!" screamed Ruby, jumping off of Pilo as he charged for her, filled with as much dread as absolute anger. How _dare _Rei? How _dare_ he? He couldn't process anything but the anger, the utter rage, and he could hardly feel the grief through the fury. "Sapphire!" He still yelled for her though, wanting to know she'd be there, wanting to know she still had his back-

"She's not going to wake up," said Rei, dark glee turning into maniacal laughter at the hate-filled, desperate expression on Ruby's face. He stood, looking smug and victorious, a cruel tyrannous king in a dark black cloak. "But don't worry about missing her too much- you'll be joining her in just a minute."

"You're just talk," snarled Ruby, almost startling himself. He was always the collected one, the one to think things through and stay on the sidelines until the last possible moment, and now, in this moment of danger, he'd transformed. No, he'd been changed the moment Rei had taken him away. He felt like how Sapphire must have always felt in battle- reckless, daring, and always in front of the front lines. "You say it's just a game, just a game, but in the end, you're going to lose anyways. And you're going to lose to _me_."

Ruby jumped Rei just like Sapphire had, though instead of trying to claw him, he purposely aimed for Rei's middle, barreling into the man like a full-powered Rollout attack, knocking him over onto the ground. Rei took the attack with grace, letting himself fall, letting Ruby's momentum make the boy tumble past him. Ruby's stumble was not nearly as graceful, and he got up sore and unsteady, unused to this kind of fighting.

"At least Sapphire knew how to fight with tooth and claw- I don't think you know a thing," taunted Rei, and Ruby said nothing, knowing it was true. He'd never needed to fight with anything but his Pokemon, and he hated to get his hands dirty. But right now, his only chance to carry out his new plan unnoticed was hand-to-hand combat. Nana was still tired, and he hadn't spent that much time practicing the technique with her- after all, when would he ever need to use it?

He wished he could go to Sapphire, check on her, try his best to wake her up, but he knew this was a sacrifice she'd want, ask him to make, to let her go in exchange for victory. For wasn't she the noble one? This time, he was going to fight, for her, for the sake of everyone, not run away in apathy. He owed it to her.

_I'm sorry_, Sapphire, he thought despairingly, feeling the tears bite at his eyes. _This isn't how I wanted things to be..._

"Well, good thing I learn fast then," replied Ruby, hiding his quickly building grief, not wanting to give Rei another reason to taunt him further. Besides, he only had one chance, he had to concentrate, lest Rei notice what he was about to do.

"Try me." Rei leaned down to pull his silver dagger, now stained red with Sapphire's blood, out of the girl's back, twirling it in his hand. "Are you still stupid enough to try?" The knife flashed in the light of the surrounding flames, bright and deadly. Ruby still didn't feel fear.

"Whether I'm stupid or not'll be decided by whether or not I succeed, don't you think?" Ruby signaled with a flick of his fingers to his Pokemon behind him, gesturing for them to help him. He felt, instead of saw, them prepare to launch themselves into the fight, and was silently grateful for their support. "After all, in battle, stupidity and bravery can be the same thing!"

He charged Rei again, but instead of aiming for Rei's face like the man expected, at the very last second, Ruby twisted so the brunt of his attack hit Rei's legs, his hand reaching up into Rei's cloak, failing to knock away the knife by inches. Rei was pushed back, but he didn't fall, and only sheer reflex kept Ruby from being stabbed- the knife had buried itself up to the hilt in the ground, having been thrown by Rei with lightning speed. Had Ruby been a second slower, it might have pierced his heart.

Wasting no time reflecting yet another near-death, Ruby got back on his feet, wiping away sweat and dirt from his brow, judging how likely Rei was to attack him again. Nonchalantly, Rei plucked the knife from the ground like one would pick flowers, tossing it lightly like a Pokeball, albeit a very oblong and sharp one.

"Do you really want to die this badly? I wouldn't have thought that you had a death wish. Or did your precious Sapphire change your mind?" taunted Rei, gloating.

How sick was he, to torment others over lost love, when Rei couldn't take a taunt over it himself? Ruby had to stop himself from jumping; he didn't quite have a death wish. He'd managed to get what he wanted.

"Ever heard of a pickpocket?" asked Ruby, backing up a safe distant away, careful not to step into any flames or fall down any chasms. Not wanting Rei to be able to foil his plans now.

"Pickpocket?" repeated Rei incredulously, immediately feeling around his cloak, the many interior pockets, discovering the most important item missing. "_You_-"

"That's right," said Ruby triumphantly, showing the Amethyst Orb he had stolen, holding it out like he had held out contest ribbons. "I've got the Orb. There's nothing tying you to Groudon and Kyogre anymore, nothing tying me to you!"

Rei jerked his head back to see the legendary Pokemon relaxing, ceasing their attacks, and the other Dex Holders, who'd been fighting the mighty beasts, looked back in surprise. There was a gasp or two as they took the time to fully take in the scene- Sapphire's body still on the ground, Ruby's cold, yet sorrowful, smile, Rei's sudden look of panic.

"Gengar, Nightmare!" screamed Rei, pointing at Ruby, as if he could make the attack stronger.

Ruby gave a slight shudder as it passed through him, but strangely, he felt no different. No visions swirled to mind, no terrifying hallucinations. After all, what could be scarier than his reality?

Ruby laughed. "You think you can show me fear now? I've already seen all my greatest fears- one's right in front of me," he said in a quieter voice, looking over to Sapohire out of the corner of his eyes.

Rei gritted his teeth. He had a chance at this still, it was just a game, he could still win. At the very least, he didn't have to lose.

"Salamence, Dragon Claw!" he yelled, commanding his revived Pokemon back into battle. "Glaceon, Blizzard!"

"Rono, Protect!" screamed Ruby in reply, Sapphire's Aggron immediately shielding him with a translucent green sphere of light. "There's no use fighting anymore. I'm putting an end to it now."

"Not if I can help it!" Rei's eyes were alight with the fire of a cornered Pokemon, and as if throwing a Poke Ball, he threw his dagger, which flew as fast and straight as an arrow right as the Protect was breaking.

It brushed by Ruby, tearing another gash in his torn-up shirt, leaving a shallow cut in his arm, burying itself in the trunk of a tree behind him. "Your aim was off," laughed Ruby, finding it strangely funny, despite the situation. "You hardly touched me!"

Rei simply smiled- Ruby would have dodged it anyways. What he'd needed was the distraction.

Salamence's shadow was suddenly looming over the boy, and he'd barely had time to say "Protect" as a Fire Blast flared around the weakening edges of the Protect, breaking it and burning him with the small, but powerful, remains.

"Agh!" Ruby cried in pain as his arm burned, but he didn't flinch, didn't stop. "Mimi, Blizzard! Groudon, Kyogre-"

"Freeze him," commanded Rei to his Glaceon. "Freeze him to death!"

"Toro, Blaze Kick!" The Blaziken delivered one swift blow with a powerful kick of a flaming leg, sending the Glaceon sprawling to the ground. "You can't stop me. You never could. Groudon, Kyogre, destroy him!"

The orb burned in his hands, like lava, and he almost dropped it in pain, then it cooled, becoming the temperature of cold water, a soothing, healing-like effect. Balancing out, destroying the conflict between the two as it shifted back to its normal cool feel. The orb glowed red, then blue, and Ruby stepped forwards to Sapphire and pulled her limo body back, not wanting her to be caught in the blast.

Groudon and Kyogre both roared in unison, both looking down at Rei, starting to charge their attacks. The strange lines on their bodies glowed with the force of command, and with a sick satisfaction that his command had gone right, Ruby smiled, the same twisted one Rei had given them so many times before.

Rei was frozen, staring up at the legendary Pokemon with an awestruck horror, his Gengar at his leg. He started to run, but Groudon and Kyogre still followed his movements, tracking him like police Growlithes. His Gengar remained next to him, like a shadow. However, his eyes were not exactly those of someone cornered; it was more as if he were plotting something, though what it was was beyond Ruby's comprehension.

There was a flash of red, Rei's Pokemon being called back. _Strange_, thought Ruby, _for a man about to die. I would have released them, not doomed them to die with me. _But then again, Rei wasn't like Ruby in the slightest. He probably viewed it as _"If I'm going down, I might as well take my Pokemon with me."_

Then the attack came, and Ruby saw it almost in slow motion. Kyogre's Water Spout was at full power, the swirling orb of storming water in its mouth flattening out to a powerful beam of pressurized water that ate into the stone of the ground. Likewise, Groudon's Eruption was like the Continent Pokemon had taken the sun in its mouth and spat it out at the ground- the light hurt Ruby's eyes, and he could hardly keep his eyes open as the combined attack hit Rei dead center. He might have been imagining it, but he swore he saw a Gengar's smile and a fading shadow the moment the Water Spout and Eruption collided together, causing a frenzy of red sparks of fire to explode, destroying anything that in its way.

Ruby and everyone else was thrust back by the sheer force of the attack, which cleared a good radius of trees and even boulders. Ruby blinked once, and then twice, head dizzy from the blowback and mental exertion of having forced the two legendaries to release such powerful attacks in unison. He hadn't felt it before, but now it hit him like an Iron Ball to the head.

As did the full impact of Sapphire's limp body in his arms. Rei's defeat was second to this, and Ruby felt tears sting his eyes, tears he hadn't let himself cry. Why Sapphire? Why her?

He fell down to his knees with a thump, unable to remain standing, lost in shock and pain. He didn't even hear the other Dex Holders approach him. He only knew they were there when Red lay a hand on his shoulder with regretful eyes.

"Is she-?" he started, not wanting to continue in case Ruby became angered. But Ruby said nothing, not wanting to stir up false hope inside of himself, he wouldn't do that, wouldn't-

Yellow bounded over, and without a word, she lay her hand on Sapphire's heart. Looking at her through misty tears, Ruby wondered what she was doing, surprised, in a way, at her boldness.

Yellow's eyes were closed tight with intense concentration as she pressed her hand down harder, searching for a trace of life. She gasped when she found it, and despite her exhaustion, she immediately placed all of her energy into the healing, giving her strength to Sapphire.

"Yellow-senpai, is she-?" asked Ruby breathlessly, still not wanting to hope, lest he be crushed later, lest it not be true. But he wanted to, needed to believe, anything but this, anything but this. "Please tell me she's alive."

The blond girl said nothing, not even hearing Ruby, feeling all the broken bits of Sapphire and mending them one by one until she was done. She collapsed back into Red's arms, Red having been there to catch her once she fell.

"I'm proud of you," he whispered, hugging her close, his face buried in her hair. "I always will be."

Yellow smiled as she fell asleep, and at that moment, Sapphire woke up, blue eyes wide in panic. Ruby laughed, laughter mingling with his tears, too happy to say a thing. She was alive. She was back.

"Where's Rei? Where is he?" were Sapphire looked around in panic, looking confused when she couldn't see the blond-haired man or any of his Pokemon. She was more confused when she saw the Amethyst Orb lying on the ground beside Ruby and the legendary Pokemon standing still, waiting for orders.

Ruby pulled her into him, placing his lips next to his ear. "He's gone. I defeated him. He's dead."

He heard Sapphire draw in a breath of relief and collapse against him, relaxing her body. Ruby relaxed too, glad it was finally over.

"I was so scared," admitted Ruby, leaning back so he could see her face, which was currently smudged with dirt and caked with blood, and still the most beautiful thing in the world. "I never want to lose you, ever."

The other Dex Holders smiled and Blue even giggled despite herself as Ruby kissed Sapphire, both of them melding into each other. They had all done it- not even this opponent could take down the ten of them. No opponent was unbeatable when they worked together, not even a monster like Rei.

Silently, no longer under control, Groudon and Kyogre started to leave, the former walking with loud thumps to the distant mountains, the latter flying to its ocean home. Red picked the Amethyst Orb off the ground, wanting to smash it himself, but knowing someone who deserved it more.

Ruby and Sapphire had stopped to draw breath, and Red tapped Ruby lightly and awkwardly on the shoulder to hand him the orb. "I was going to destroy it, but you should be the one to do it. It hurt you the most."

Ruby took it almost obediently, and walked over to a nearby rock, Sapphire by his side. Almost reverently, he lifted the Amethyst Orb above his head, where it shone in beautiful soft lilac tones in the afternoon sun. He felt a jolt as he held it, heard the voice, a sudden chill of fear rushing down his spine, but he relaxed, calming himself. _Rei's dead. Stop imagining things, Ruby._ _It's not real. He wouldn't even be able to do that alive. _Then he brought it down, dashing it into a million glass shards, scattering it across the ground like diamond dust.

"Now it's over, for real," he said, watching as the wind carried the remains of the orb into the air around, shimmering like glitter. The flames began to die, having consumed all they could, and Ruby closed his eyes, taking Sapphire's hand and squeezing it tight, as if she were a lifeline. _At least, it better be._

__***And cut! No, it's not completely finished yet. We've still got the epilogue and another project in the works! What could it be? :V My profile page has a hint at the end... ... *is totally not trying to get people to go to profile* XD Okay, Review Reply Time! (it deserves caps. :3)**

**Killfith: It's fine. As long as you're still reading. ;) XD Yup, silly me... Can't remember the days of the week anymore. X) Except when it comes to my job.**

**Wolfeclipse25: *high five***

**blazelight790: XD Everyone still wants Rei to die~ (while I still like him because he's my evil blond silver-eyed badboy. XD ... ... His character design is totally not based off of Draco Malfoy. :V) I'm pretty bad at incorporating the other Dex Holders... Whenever I tried, it felt out of place. They're fighting Groudon and Kyogre. ^^ (and winning I'm pretty sure.)**

**Gur40goku: Feel? I am teasing you guys! XD (I love torturing readers and characters. :3)**

**DCA123: Don't worry, they're not dead! :D Yellow to the rescue~ **

**ZXCVBNMEM: I'm getting better at typing it without looking at the reference. XD Do the letters stand for something? It was more important to defeat Rei than save Sapphire in the midst of the battle, but they all turned out okay. ;) **

**spiritgurl21: I wanna go to Spanish camp. :V (totally doesn't sound like a nerd.) XD I never did that with my Gamecube... Because I'd never save my Pokemon XD game until it was time to get off. :3 I just thought that the game console in R/S was a Gamecube, so that would be the most likely thing for Ruby to play, right? I can imagine Sapphire dragging him off to 'experience nature.' XD Franticshipping is perfect... I hope your nails survived the wait. XD**

**FighterGirl21: All part of the plan, my dear reviewer. ;) **

**Kimiko Heroux: I just wanted to get to 25 Chapters. I dunno why. Maybe because it's such a nice number? Either that or ideas just kept leaping out at me... No, I wasn't drawing the angels while writing the chapters. This chapter has been finished for... almost a month now? The story's been finished for almost a month. So I was just drawing angels. XD **

**Mimishee Lee: Thank you! I can't help but ask- did you guess right? It would have been more entertaining if you told me your theory. XD**

**FireMightyena: Oh dear Arceus. O.o He's in for quite a beating... Though you realize his Gengar acts as a bodyguard, right? *is shot* It has Psychic, Focus Blast, Shadow Ball, and Sludge Bomb... (and probably other moves, seeing how in Pokespe they all know more than four. Lucky them...) Who doesn't love Chosenshipping? *is shot* I personally don't like (more like hate) OldRivalshipping... I dunno why exactly. Probably because it looks like crack to me. And I look to Vainshipping (GoldxRuby) for all my crack! (and PreciousMetal, but I wouldn't exactly count that as crack... ... ... it could potentially be canon...) **

**Thanks to everyone who read up to this point! Just remember, the epilogue will be posted next week! ;) Along with an announcement of my next work, which I hope you'll all read. (and yes, I will publish the BluexSilver oneshot sometime. I'm just keeping it to fill up the weeks after I finish posting Memories Lost. XD That is... if I had it.)***


	26. Epilogue

***Oh man, it's thunderstorming. :/ I need to get this done before my power goes out! Aeyra out!***

Epilogue

It wasn't the first time the world had been saved by the Dex Holders- in fact, Ruby had almost gotten used it to it, or as used to the title of 'heroes' as he ever could. They'd been congratulated at all levels- in the small town of Littleroot, where his parents and Professor Birch had thrown a party and his mom had tousled his hair and cried over how worried she'd been. Sapphire had gotten bored after a few hours and pulled out to the Secret Base where they spent the rest of the day eating berries and food they'd snatched from the party.

They were forced to attend some fancy party (which Ruby would once have loved) at the Hoenn Pokemon League, sandwiched between gym leaders and even the Elite 4 and Champion. Emerald had been there as well, looking even tinier than usual. Ruby had reluctantly accepted a beautiful medal along with Sapphire, who looked strange and out of place in a dress much too elegant to be comfortable, both wishing they could just relax in their Secret Base and forget the whole matter. It was over- why did the world seem intent on reminding them at every possible moment?

Even worse, there was another celebration- one that would involve most of the worldwide Pokemon League, once again in Hoenn. All of their seniors had come over for it, accepting the shiny plaques and grateful speeches of the Champions, the Elite 4s of each region, the gym leaders, and more. The only plus was that Ruby and Sapphire managed to sneak out after their turn, faking a trip to the bathroom and instead running out into the nearby forest.

They climbed onto a large tree, Ruby struggling behind Sapphire as he attempted to jump the branches as gracefully as she could. It was surprising how agile she was, even a dress that should have kept a person from even walking normally. Several times he felt like he was going to slip and fall, but like always, her hand was there to catch him. It was nice to know she'd always be there for him- he just wanted her to know that next time, he'd be there for her too. It wasn't fair that she was always the one rescuing him.

For a while, they sat in silence, just watching as the bright blue sky of daytime started to shift into the lavender shades of evening, comfortable in each other's presence. Ruby noticed that the lights inside the fancy Pokemon League building were still on, meaning the ceremony and celebration were still ongoing. He wondered if they were still holding speeches or had moved onto the party- yet, he didn't care. He didn't want to go back no matter what they were doing.

"A penny for yer thoughts?" started Sapphire, catching his somewhat depressed expression with anxiety. Ruby hadn't exactly been himself ever after the battle with Rei, as if some piece of him had broken.

"I wish they would just stop with this whole Rei thing," said Ruby, sounding tired, adjusting his hat so it covered part of his face. Ever since that final battle, nobody had bothered to shut up and give him a chance to take a break. Nobody except Sapphire, but since they were both locked up in all the ceremonies and other troublesome events, it wasn't like she was able to help. His original euphoria of having her saved and his victory had worn off, leaving behind a hollow shell. "I just want to forget it all. He's dead, I killed him, that's that. I don't want to remember any of it."

"Ya can't mean that," answered Sapphire, causing Ruby to look up in surprise. He'd kind of expected her to echo his feelings, but of course, she was always his opposite, wasn't she? The surprise was something he loved. "Even though ya hated every second of it, it doesn't mean ya want or should forget it all. Those were important moments, Ruby. Ya changed a lot in the past few weeks. Otherwise, ya wouldn't be out here with me right now."

"I didn't hate _every_ second of it," mumbled Ruby, specifically remembering the moment the control on him had been broken, as if he'd taken a breath of air after being drowned for hours, days, free at last. Seeing Sapphire's beautiful blue eyes staring at him intensely, as if there was nothing else in the world, and he'd just been so happy, so happy, happy enough to lean in and kiss her. If there was one thing he wouldn't give up, ever, it would be that kiss, his first one. The only thing he regretted was that it took Rei to force him to that point. "I… I liked it when we kissed."

"I liked it too," laughed Sapphire, her laughter clear, cutting through some of the utter nothingness in Ruby's head. That's what the feeling was. As if he were empty, unsure of what to do… "Of course, it would be pretty bad if we didn't like it."

"I guess," answered Ruby, trying his best to smile back. It was weird- it was almost as if when Rei died, somehow, he had taken a piece of Ruby with him. Ruby just couldn't bring himself to be the way he was before. He didn't feel as if he had the energy to shout "Beautiful!" at the sight of gorgeous, shining fur, didn't feel as if he had the energy to sew pretty accessories and groom his Pokemon while crooning compliments. It just didn't feel… right.

"Ruby, what's wrong? Ya can tell me ya know," said Sapphire, sounding irritated and yet gentle at the same time. Ruby didn't really feel like answering her, didn't want to share the strange emptiness that seemed to seep into his being, but he did anyways.

"Things just aren't the same. I feel like there's nothing, like I'm nothing," admitted Ruby, only feeling the slightest bit of embarrassment. He knew Sapphire wouldn't judge him, or at least, not too harshly. So why wasn't he surprised when she, once again, defied his expectations?

"Don't be ridiculous, Ruby!" yelled Sapphire, and Ruby's hair stood on end at the sheer volume. He heard flocks of Swellow and Taillow fly away from tree branches in shock. He didn't blame them- Sapphire was quite a loud girl. "Nothing? Yer far from nothing! Don't even _dare_ ta try ta think like that! _Nothing?_ You'll never be that!"

"Then what am I?" asked Ruby, feeling the urge to stand on his tree branch. However, he still maintained his common sense and simply straightened up, not wanting to fall over fifty feet to the ground. Why did he follow Sapphire up here again?

"Arceus, this is like when I was helping ya regain yer memories!" said Sapphire haughtily, fidgeting uncomfortably in her strange dress. Ruby tried to remember back to when he would have felt tempted to fix it for her, to make it better, and then force her into it despite her shouts of "No!" For some reason, the memory was a bit blurred, a bit far away. He felt as if he reached for it, he could reach it, but when he tried, it only pulled farther away. "What are ya? Yer my best friend, yer a contest lover, a prissy, girly boy, a battle hater-"

"I don't hate battles that much anymore," said Ruby, interrupting her tirade. Sapphire looked over, somewhat shocked. Ruby could surprise her too. "Even though I should hate them even more now, for some reason, I think I like them. I- I still remember the high of battle when I was fighting against you guys, and then with, and I think I liked it. It was… exhilarating. I was able to push myself to my limits and farther."

"Well…" started Sapphire, not really sure what to say to that. Ruby actually _liking_ battles now? That was going to be something to get used to. "At least I've got a more reliable battle buddy now. I hope you don't mind me getting your Pokemon dirty."

"I was coated in blood and dirt for over a day, Sapphire," replied Ruby, a small smile tugging at the edge of his mouth. "So were my Pokemon. As long as you let me take a bath afterwards and let my Pokemon wash up too, it shouldn't be too big a problem."

"Ruby, there's somethin' more," accused Sapphire, looking at him skeptically. "I think there's more behind this- your emptiness. Just tell me what- I'll help you, I promise."

"I feel like there's something missing. You might have brought my memories back, Sapphire, but they don't feel the way they did. It's like they're chipped, broken, blurry, and I don't remember them right. I can remember the things you gave me, the Salamence, all those days in the Secret Base, but all the things that belonged to me and me alone? I can see them, and yet I can't. It's like I'm trying to touch them, but there's a glass wall keeping me from reaching," explained Ruby, trying to pry into his head once again, feeling that strange unfamiliarity with his own mind.

It was like looking into the mind of a stranger, as if all the memories and thoughts belonged to someone else. The only real things, the things that stood out in perfect clarity, were the past few weeks, days, the training with Rei, the battles, the horrible feeling of being possessed, like being locked up in chains and strangely euphoric about it, and these parties, these annoying celebrations, one after another after another, driving these terrible memories up into his head and making sure they'd never leave him.

"I'm not sure what ta do about that," admitted Sapphire sadly, smiling softly at her now vulnerable friend. Ruby's frown was so much more broken than he knew, and the pain in his eyes was deeper than he'd let on. "But we can make new memories, right? Better ones, happier ones."

"Replacements?" asked Ruby wryly, starting to feel uncomfortable with that hat upon his head. He knew he'd always worn it, for years and years and years, but he couldn't remember the times he did wear it clearly. He knew he hadn't been wearing it for the past few weeks, the ones he remembered well, and it felt foreign as well. Why had he been forced to change so much? "I'm not sure if that'll make me feel any less empty."

"Well, ya don't know until ya try, right?" Sapphire stood up, causing the branch to shake. Ruby grabbed onto it tightly, feeling slightly dizzy as he looked down.

"Sapph, you might want to sit back down-"

"Don't worry, I'm not going ta fall." She waved him off, grabbing for his hand and pulling him up as well. Ruby felt as if he were on a tightrope- and it wasn't a nice feeling. "And you're not going ta fall either."

"I'd feel better if I could sit-" started Ruby, knowing by the look in Sapphire's eyes that she was about to-

Sapphire jumped, pulling Ruby with her. Ruby, with his other hand, started reaching frantically for a Pokemon. Someone had to remind him why he had never caught a flying-type for emergencies like this-

They landed with a thud, Ruby feeling shaky as he slowly rose up again. Sapphire looked as if she had only stepped down from a single stair. "Wasn't that fun?"

"Fun?" he repeated, dazed. He looked up to where they had been, not even able to see the branch with all the leaves in the way. But the night sky was beautiful as the backdrop, a lovely indigo that glowed lilac at the edges, burning with red and orange as well, fading into a darker blue at the top. Stars painted it like shining snowflakes. He smiled. Was this the first memory? "Yeah, I guess so. Though, never do that with me again please."

"Ya sure?" asked Sapphire mischievously, giving him a hinting wink. "Caus' it won't be too much trouble ta climb up and jump down again-"

"No, just- no," answered Ruby, shuddering at the thought. Once was enough for him- he didn't want to chance it. He might not have felt the same utter adoration for all things beautiful and keeping himself handsome as well, but he still wasn't willing to have his face turned into a pancake. "Please don't."

"If ya say so. By the way, yer hat fell off," noticed Sapphire, pointing at Ruby's bare head. "Are ya goin' ta get it?"

"Nah," he answered. Somehow, the feeling of the light evening breeze in his hair felt familiar, and he no longer felt self conscious about the ugly scar that marred his forehead. Lightly, he reached up to touch the slashes, no longer feeling that others would judge him for it. It was simply a part of him. "I think I like it better this way."

"If ya say so!" said Sapphire, pulling at her dress irritatedly. "This thing is gettin' kind of uncomfortable- I'm gonna go into the forest ta change real quick. Promise not ta look!"

"C-change?!" Ruby felt a blush spread all over his cheeks. He knew that this probably wasn't the first time Sapphire had ever said that to him, but it still made him feel embarrassed, and in a secret dark corner of his mind, he did want to look. But he wouldn't, because he was a gentleman, and if Sapphire caught him, despite her wanting to make 'new, better memories', she would most definitely kill him. "I- I'm closing my eyes!"

"Good boy," she said, and Ruby heard the leaves on the ground rustle as Sapphire threw her dress off. There was a sound of breaking branches and leaves being torn ruthlessly from trees as Sapphire constructed her makeshift, completely nature-made outfit. "I'm done. You can look now."

He turned around, and- had that skirt really shown that much skin before? It was hard to keep himself from staring at Sapphire's body instead of her face, and even then, she was still staring at him with slight irritation.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked, giving him a good up and down glare.

"N-nothing-" started Ruby, and then he heard Sapphire gasp in surprise as someone barreled him in the shoulder.

"Are we interrupting something?" asked Blue in a sing-song voice, a teasing smile on her face. "I knew I'd find you two out here! We were the only ones who really noticed you were missing, don't worry. Everyone, over here!"

"B-Blue," said Sapphire, surprised at seeing her senior out in the forest.

She'd thought they would be inside enjoying the party, after all, they had all seemed happy. Green had been chatting with Red about battle strategy while Yellow slept on Red's shoulder, looking perfectly at ease. Gold had been teasing Crystal, and she looked ready to slap him for it while Emerald laughed next to her, and Blue and Silver were just, well, talking happily, completely relaxed and comfortable in each other's presence. Why did they come out to follow them?

"Didn't expect to see us? Did you really not expect your big sister Blue to come make sure something naughty wasn't going on? Two teenagers sneaking out in the middle of a party, alone, in a forest… Come on, don't tell me nothing was going on!" Blue laughed, and Ruby felt the urge to hit his senpai. Though, he had to admit, it did sound a little…. suspicious.

"Don't want our innocent little juniors have their minds spoiled yet, do you?" said Gold, laughing. "How nice."

"I'm sure you were never as innocent- you were worse at ten, let alone now," muttered Crystal under her breath, though good naturedly. "I'm sure you two just wanted to have some alone time. But we were getting kind of worried- you were gone for a long time."

"How long has it been?" asked Ruby curiously. He hadn't really noticed the passing time- he knew that the day had turned to night, but he wasn't sure how many hours had flown by.

"At least four hours," answered Silver, looking up at the sky. "I was surprised- when I saw you two missing, I thought you would have snuck back in by now. Was it that bad?"

"I wasn't really up to a party today," answered Ruby somewhat haughtily. "Besides, Sapph didn't really care about being trapped inside either…"

"It was a boring ceremony," added Sapphire, defending herself. "It's a lot nicer out here- fresh air, a pretty view and all that. A lot better than listenin' ta all those champions congratulate us- we get the gist by now."

"I'm one of those champions," pointed out Red, faking sounding hurt. He was still technically champion even though he didn't fulfill many of the roles. He'd never actually given up the position, and he'd participated in many tournaments to stay on top. Besides, Lance had opted not to come, forcing Red to make a speech instead. "Are you saying my speech was boring?"

"I think we left before yers," answered Sapphire, laughing. "Everyone else's was borin' then."

"I didn't hear them," said Yellow, yawning, rubbing at her big brown eyes. "I kind of fell asleep."

"Doesn't that mean they were boring?" asked Emerald, looking over with skeptical green eyes.

"Yellow falls asleep during anything and everything," explained Green in a matter-of-fact manner. "She even fell asleep during a battle once, but that's not exactly her fault."

"She's been worn out ever since healing Sapphire," added on Red. "Apparently Pokemon don't take nearly as much energy as humans do."

"I'm not worn out," said Yellow, but she didn't sound very convincing, yawning at the end of her statement. "I'm just… tired."

_There's a difference?_ thought Ruby. _Well, it's a good thing she was able to heal Sapphire, otherwise…_ He looked over at Sapphire, who happened to be looking at him. Once upon a time, he knew he would have looked away and denied ever even having cast a glance in her direction, but this time, he did not break their stare.

She smiled, and he smiled too. If they had been alone, like they had been only a couple minutes before, he probably would have kissed her shamelessly. He still felt the desire, but he was able to hold back.

"Lovebirds much?" teased Blue, somehow seeming to be able to read Ruby's thoughts. Ruby turned his head to glare at his senpai instead. Sapphire seemed to blush beside him.

Then a Pokegear rung, and Ruby turned to look at Silver, who seemed to be having an urgent conversation with someone.

"No ashes… no remains… no evidence… Should there have been… Attack from legendaries…" Silver was talking low and fast and quiet, making very few of his words audible. Ruby looked at Sapphire in confusion, but she only shrugged, just as puzzled as he was. A few seconds later, Silver turned off his Pokegear and looked at them with apprehension, as if he wasn't sure how what he said was going to be received.

"That was Lance," he started, looking around cautiously, as if the woods surrounding them had suddenly been filled with dangerous Pokemon eager to attack them. "I had him go look at the forest near Lilycove, where we supposedly kill Rei. I wanted to make sure he was dead for sure. I just wanted to be sure," repeated Silver almost just himself. "After all, it'd be terrible if he ever comes back, but it seems..." Silver paused, trying to proccess Lance's words.

_"Are you absolutely sure he was ever even there...? There's nothing but scorched grass and a crater. No evidence that anyone and their Pokemon were burnt to a crisp..."_

Ruby felt his stomach drop, and he felt Sapphire take his hand and squeeze it tight. He squeezed it back, knowing what they were about to hear next with a sickening anticipation, the kind where you know exactly what's going to be said, and you know it's the truth, but you're in denial anyways.

"It's not a confirmation by any means, but Lance says there was nothing left behind. Nothing but burnt ground. He's an expert in powerful attacks, being a dragon-type master, and he says there should have been something left. Burnt clothing, melted Pokeballs, maybe even… bones, but there's nothing to be seen." Silver looked... shocked if nothing else. He had only asked Lance because he wanted someone capable to say "He's dead" instead of just using his own judgment but of course that wouldn't happen. The Dex Holders could all seem to hear the words Rei would have said, his evil, cackling laugh, inside their heads.

_"Of course I'm not dead! My game is not over yet!" _

"That can't be true. Nobody could have survived that attack," said Ruby, voice climbing high and fast, cracking at the end. Rei, not dead? Then he hadn't been imagining that voice in his head as he held the Amethyst Orb, hadn't been imagining those nightmarish words that shook him to the core, that he hadn't shared with even Sapphire, that he'd shrugged off in the hopes that it was just his overactive fear. "Nobody, not even him."

"Just know, that maybe, he's not dead. That maybe, he'll come back again," answered Silver, looking angry and sorry, wearing off the shock quickly. He was just as upset though- Rei had almost caused him _and _Blue to be killed. "You did say his Gengar could teleport, didn't you? It had that type of Psychic ability."

"Yeah…" answered Ruby and Sapphire simultaneously, both having seen, or in Ruby's case, experienced it firsthand. "But… That doesn't mean..."

The smile of the Gengar. Ruby had seen that too, right before the attack would have hit Rei. Rei's shadow fading along with that bright white smile; he'd hoped it was just the two smoldering into ashes. It was a terrible, terrible thought, but Ruby had wanted it nonetheless, as revenge for what Rei had done to him. But now… That revenge hadn't even worked.

"Ruby, it's not for certain," said Silver, looking over at his junior worriedly. The whole group was staring at Ruby anxiously. "Lance could be wrong. Maybe he's underestimating the power of those two legendaries."

Ruby hadn't noticed he'd been holding in his breath, kneading through his hair with his hands. He must have looked like a wreck, breaking as he heard the news, like a glass hitting the ground, shattering and exposing the broken mess within. But the worst wasn't over yet.

"Yes, yes it is for certain," said Ruby wretchedly, fully surprised at how quickly he was able to accept the fact that Rei was indeed not dead. "I heard him, right before I was about to smash the Amethyst Orb. I thought I was hallucinating- I wasn't. Now I know I wasn't. Oh Arceus, no-"

"Ruby, what did he say?" asked Sapphire, filling dread crawl into every fiber of her being. "What did you hear?"

"It's not over. I'll be back," repeated Ruby, remembering how he had shook it off, trying to tell himself if wasn't real, that it wasn't actually Rei's voice, that he was just imagining things. He wasn't imagining. Why couldn't he have been? "That's what he said."

"Why didn't you tell us?" demanded Gold, rashly yelling in Ruby's face, causing the younger boy to flinch. "You don't just pretend something like that never happened! That guy nearly killed us all and destroyed a good part of Hoenn! Now we find out that he'll be able to do it all over again. We would have gone searching for him right after if you said something! I bet he couldn't have gone that far, we could have captured him- we weakened his Pokemon enough-"

"I wanted to, okay? I wanted to hope, to think, that he was finally gone," snarled Ruby in reply, a lot more viciously than he'd intended to. "You think _you_ had it bad? I might remember what I was, but I'm not the same person- he changed me, and I'm not going to forgive him for that. He almost made me kill all of you, would have made me kill Sapphire- of course I wanted him dead! And now, he's back, and he'll find a way back to me." Ruby laughed coldly, a laugh thay sent chills down their spines, a laugh filled with despair and bitterness. "I'm the one who almost stopped him, almost killed him with his own weapons. I'm sure he'll take his revenge out on me."

It was Gold who flinched this time, taken aback by Ruby's explosion. Sapphire cringed- she had known Ruby was on a short fuse since the incident, but she hadn't expected such a loud, angry outburst. It was like a time bomb had been set off in him. She didn't realize exactly how much the battles had torn him apart- the damage was much worse than she had thought. She remembered having used the Blue Orb for just a second- it had threatened to shatter her mind, and only sheer willpower had kept it from doing so. Ruby had suffered from constant control from an orb just as powerful, if not more- it was foolish to think he would have escaped that unscathed.

"Ruby-" said Sapphire, reaching for him. While yelling, he had shaken off her hand, and now, he only waved if off again, though he looked slightly apologetic as their eyes met.

"I'm not finished yet," he said angrily, still staring at Gold. "Do you still think I really would have told all of you? Really? I didn't want to believe it myself. All I want to do is _forget_ all of it, forget what it was like to be possessed, forget facing him. And here you are, making it sound as if I should have been able to believe something that I would have sworn impossible. That everything would be magically fixed if I did instead of saying it now. I'm as happy as you are right now- I want him back as much as you. I don't want to believe it. But I guess I have to, don't I?"

Gold backed away slowly, holding up his hands in the universal 'I surrender' pose, not wanting to incur anymore of Ruby's rage. Ruby looked almost as he had when possessed, the only true expression anger, and it took him over completely.

Sapphire couldn't have ever imagined Ruby like this just a few weeks before- but he was right. Rei had changed him, left a piece of his cruelty, taste for violence embedded in Ruby's mind. This Ruby was broken, and all Sapphire knew was that she had to fix him, somehow, someway.

"And when he shows his face again," continued Ruby, sounding cold and deadly. "I will definitely destroy him next time. I won't let him escape, and I will make him scared. He will fear the same fear as me before I kill him."

Sapphire cringed- this was unfamiliar too, but she couldn't blame him. The word 'kill' was harsh falling from Ruby's lips, but it didn't strike her as a surprise at all. He had all the reason in the world to want Rei dead, and she empathized with him. While she had had it hard, suffering physically and mentally, Ruby had had it worse. She was basically recovered. He was still this broken.

"Rei had better be scared of me the next time I see a hair of his blond head. I will take down all of his Pokemon, and I will take down him personally. Don't even try and stop me." Everyone was silent, waiting for Ruby to continue, but Ruby simply started to walk away, disregarding them all. The moment Sapphire was about to feel hurt, he looked back, straight at her. "Come on, Sapphire. If we start flying on Pilo now, we'll be able to make it back to the Secret Base before morning."

Strangely reluctantly, she followed him, feeling almost as if she were betraying her fellow Dex Holders by following Ruby. They were all standing, stunned, almost unable to believe that Ruby had said such things to them. She was shocked as well, but she still followed. As she stepped in stride with him, he smiled. She felt a bit of hope bloom in her chest as she smiled back- he was still savable, the recognizable parts of him salvageable enough. He was still her friend, still the boy she loved. And he always would be, no matter what happened next.

"Sapphire," he whispered, leaning into her, smelling the surprisingly sweet scent of her hair. Once, he would have imagined it to smell like dirt and sweat, but it smelled like the flowers of the forest, fresh and filled with the perfume of spring. "Just promise me that you won't let me go overboard. I don't want to lose all of who I was. I'm scaring myself as much as I'm scaring you," he admitted shakily. She could feel his hand trembling in hers, unsteady as her heartbeat. "Please."

She leaned into him as well, taking in his surprising scent. Once, he smelled like a freshly cleaned room, neat and tidy, nothing out of place, with the cool scent of faint mint. Now she could make out hints of blood and dirt and sweat, tokens from the recent weeks. Even that had changed. But he was still Ruby, still himself, right? "I promise."

***And I'm back! Congrats to those of you who guessed correctly! (AKA Almost all of you though Rei was dead. w You all forgot about his teleporting Gengar! Like I would kill him this early... ... I love him! Sequel will be out in a few weeks once I'm comfortable with the buffer! You should be a receiving a BluexSilver oneshot (or maybe two-shot if it gets longer) next week or so. ^^ Review Replies! (we were one short from 150... TT^TT Oh well, we're hitting that this week, right? :3 ... right?)**

**Kimiko Heroux: :D :D :D I'm really happy! I hope the epilogue was satisfying for you!**

**blazelight790: Ruby's always badass. :V Rei dead? PSHHH no. XD XD XD (he is badass.) Well, I'm not very good at writing ten characters at once. Heck, I can't even draw that many in one drawing without them all turning out horribly... ... At least, not yet. But they were fighting Groudon and Kyogre (who were intent on destroying them) by fending off the attacks and getting their own blows in, so needless to say, they were distracted. (crappy author excuse) Nothing will ever make me Oldrival. X3 I just see Green as an absolute loner... And Blue is always glomping Silver anyways, so why not? (and he's got that obvious adorable crush on her...) :D Specialshipping and Franticshipping~ Of course that'd be in there. X3 (though, I wish I did the Special better.) Unfortunately, only 149, but this'll bring it up. ;) And yes, it was the longest! The review was truncated due to length. X) And it feels awesome!**

**supersexyghotmew: Thanks! And the PM covered everything. :3 **

**Gur40goku: I completely forgot about the physical marks. But no, it was more of a mental transformation... He was just so angry that he just kind of cracked, you know what I mean? Kind of like he just did in this epilogue. X3**

**spiritgurl21: Thank you! :D But now you can bite your nails waiting for the sequel. XD**

**Random Visitor Girl: Congrats! A cookie for guessing right! :D**

**wolfeclipse25: Congrats! A cookie for you too for guessing that Rei wasn't dead. :3 Would he kill his Pokemon? Maybe not all of them...**

**Light-Sakura: Looks like it's a cookie festival! X3 I am planning something big and evil! ... stupid iPod. Thank you!**

**lolatron5000: Well, we all have our opinions on who's the strongest. (my money is completely on Ruby. XD He's just so awesome... He hardly ever fights seriously, and even when he's just taking it easy he's still AMAZING. =w= ... ... ignore that fan rant.) Epilogue with their children? *coughs* *chokes* *dies* They're only 16! D: XD Don't worry, I wouldn't do that. I prefer the originals better than whatever children they'll have. **

**ZXCVBNMEM: I think I'm getting the hang of typing your username... XD A GIANT cookie for you to noticing the Gengar! ;) **

**SniperGYS: I liked his sadism too. .-. (I'm so weird.) Ruby is always awesome, he doesn't need me to do that. w I hate Lyra... I dunno why so many people wanted her in the manga. It was always really obvious to me that they'd just redesign Crys' clothes... (though, I hate those clothes. I played as Ethan in HG/SS just because Lyra's design was so bad.) In my opinion, Chosen would probably be considered more canon than Oldrival... If Green _blushed_ while saying "Pesky girl" it'd be a different story, but he actually means it. That's why I don't like it. :V**

**Okay! Just so I don't leave you all here with nothing, here's a short little summary of the sequel, for now, it's titled 'For Vengeance.' It could change: **

**After the aftermath of the Lilycove battle against Rei, no matter how hard he tries, Ruby just can't go back to how it used to be. It just isn't working- not when his mind is still completely preoccupied with the thoughts of the battle. Silver is busy trying to get Lance to discover information on the missing villain, even if it means sacrificing time with his new girlfriend. And Rei? He's busy in Sinnoh... for that is the land of the gods. **

**:3 Sound fun? Hopefully I'll see you all soon! Thank you all for staying with me so long on this! *bows* THANK YOU!***


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